Naruto: The Sage of Six Sights
by sagistic96
Summary: Saved at the age of 6 Naruto is adopted by Anko and finds his bloodline that was thought to have died after the Sage of Six Paths. The Sage of Six Sights is coming to the world. Later NarutoxHinata. NarutoAnkoFū famly. NOT using the Rinnegan
1. An Unexpected Day

A/N: I do not own anything about Naruto just this story

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks_

Naruto: The Sage of Six Sights

-Prologue-

In the world, during the time when shinobi existed, and the land was divided into elemental lands each with their own leaders and own shinobi villages and with in each village each had their own leaders. Within the first and strongest Village of Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Three people were going to meet and form a bond that was stronger that anything that the village ever had.

It was only 6 years before this time that the village had suffered from a terrible loss of both its newest leader and to the population. On October 10th, the Kyūbi no Kitsune had attacked the village and left its mark. The leader of the Village the Yondaime Hokage, Konoha's Yellow Flash, had sacrificed his life to seal the beast within a boy. The boy was named Naruto Uzumaki, the son of the Yellow Flash himself; only he didn't get to live life easily. When Yondaime sacrificed his life to seal the beast with Naruto, his wife and Naruto's mother had died in the process of sealing and Naruto was left an orphan on the day he was born.

Despite dying from the sealing, the Yondaime ask that everyone treat the child with respect and see him as a hero. Unfortunately...no honored the Yondaime's wish and instead saw the boy as the Demon fox with his body. Naruto was forced to grow up alone and sad for a time with only the newly reinstated Sandaime and two shop owners to actually care for him. Now it's time to look to the present and see what awaits the three souls that will become entwined with one another and form a strong bond with others.

-6 Years later-

Anko Mitarashi, a Kunoichi at the age of 15 with light brown, pupil-less eyes, and violet hair which is styled in a short, spiky, fanned-ponytail. Dressed in a tan overcoat with a purple in-seam and complete with a fitted mesh body suit that stretches from her neck down to her thighs along with a dark orange mini-skirt, as well as a forehead protector and a small pendant that looks like a snake fang on a thick cord rather than a chain, a wrist watch, and shin guards.

Anko was sitting at her favorite bar "The Rusted Kunai" enjoying the best dango within the village, in her opinion. She didn't have much to lookat or anyone to talk to because of her past life; one that she wanted to forget, but was forced to live with the consequences of the person she followed. It was until a very know ninja had picked a seat next to her that Anko finally got a little happy. Not one to resist temptation of messing around with him she decided that it would be well worth it in the long run. Eating the last of her dango, Anko lifted her head and looked at the one that took a seat next to her.

Kakashi Hatake, an ANBU based shinobi that was dressed in the standard wear of all ANBU consisting of black clothing and grey chest armor, metal arm guards and gloves, ninja sandals with spikes for travelling into mountainous regions, three ninja pouches on his back-waist and a signature spiral tattoo on his shoulder. The few things that stuck out got his recognition though, was his silver, gravity defying hair, the face mask that cover half of his face, and his left eye that had the famous Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan. Only a few knew how he obtained the eye while many had rumors or assumptions. The man was a legend in his own right, both feared and loved by many that saw him

"So...Kakashi Hatake... How's the life of an ANBU treating ya? Get to kill anybody that pissed off the village?" Kakashi ordered a bottle of sake and slowly turned to Anko with a dead look in his eye that she didn't want to see.

"Shut it Anko. I just got back from a mission and right now all I want to do is start to relax and have a drink." Seeing that Kakashi wasn't in the mood, Anko grew a little more mischievous and decided to play along; in her own way of course.

"Alright Kakashi-teme...just let me know when you actually want to have more fun. You know that I hardly have anyone to keep me company." To add to this Anko stretched her hand in the air just enough to show off. Despite her age, Anko filled out quite nicely and dressed to show that off to distract her opponents. She caught Kakashi looking at her and saw him look away just as fast with a slight redness in his face before he coughed.

"Anko will you please sto..."

"STOP YOU DEMON SPAWN! LEAVE HER ALONE! YOU WILL NOT HARM OUR HIERESS!" At those words both of them, jumped from their seats. They both shared a look before they got up and headed towards the door with one thought on their minds; Kakashi the only one able to voice it.

"What's that all about?"

"No idea...I think it was one of the cla..." Anko didn't finish because that was when she saw a 'flash' of orange speed right past her when she walked out the bar's entrance; this was followed by a group of villagers that looked more than just their regular pissed off atitude. As the group passed the two shinobi, they heard insults and threats being shouted from the group of villagers. Kakashi knew what was happening almost immediately, but hoped that he was wrong. Placing his dog-based ANBU mask in a pouch and pulling out one that looked like a cat, Kakashi started to go after them

"Anko...follow me I got a feeling that those villagers aren't going to give what they're following any affection." Anko nodded and followed the ANBU after the small group of people. Sticking to the rooftops with Kakashi, Anko ignored the fact that it was starting to rain hell and focused on the group of people and how they acted.

The way those people are moving to find this 'thing' or person is way too organized; no…no that's the organization and formation of a mob that usually goes after me sometimes...' Realizing this Anko picked up her pace and was actually focused on saving something or _someone_ that was in front of the crowd. She hoped she was wrong, but deep down she knew that something was bad was happening.

-Meanwhile: In Front of the Mob-

A boy dressed in an orange tracksuit with blue on the upper shoulders area as well as around the waist, a white swirl tassel on the left side, a red swirl on the back, a large white collar, orange pants, blue sandals, and whisker marks on his face with blue eyes and blond, spiky hair was seen running through the raining streets of Konohagakure. This was 6 year old was named Naruto Uzumaki, who was running for his life. The reason being that the villagers that despised him; many of them just chased him around the village intent on killing him for no reason. Naruto didn't understand why the adults hated him, only that he had to run or hide whenever he saw them. This was actually an everyday occurrence for him, but this group was actually 'trying' to catch him for once.

"Kill the demon!" one of the villagers took the chance that he was distracted and threw a broken glass bottle at him. The bottle its mark as it hit his arm and broke causing a rather large gash in his arms to open and making him cry out in pain. When he stopped another villager threw a bottle but it missed and it caused him to shout out...

"Teach him the reason why no one takes away our precious Hokage and touches one of our most prestigious clans!" Even thought it was raining, the water on Naruto's face mostly came from his tears as he ran; causing him to miss a lot of things around him. When Naruto hit a wall and fell on his back, he realized that he ran into a dead end alley. He was clutching his head in pain when he saw that the villagers were starting to close the distance between them.

'So close...' Naruto got up and started to walked backwards with his hands up in order to protect himself.

"Kill him!"

"Burn him!

"I'm sorry! I don't know what I did! Please leave me alone! I won't do anything bad!" Naruto soon struck with a bottle again in his stomach, and caused to roll over in pain.

"Shut up you little brat!" the villager that was closest brought up a metal broom handle as swung it as hard as he could on Naruto's head. Naruto curled up into a ball and waited for the pain to come…when he never felt it he looked up and saw two figures in front of him. Someone with a mask, that looked like a cat, covering their face, held the makeshift weapon in his hand. The other had her hair put into a spiky ponytail.

"I really don't recommend that you do that to him." It sounded like a man who turned and spoke to the other figure. "Anko check on him…and make sure he's alright." The girl that looked about 15 years old walked towards Naruto; she squatted down and looked at Naruto with a very friendly smile. Naruto saw that she had dark purple hair and brown pupil-less eyes. As she scanned him in the rain she saw the gash on his arm and began to wrap it up in some extra gauze that she had on her; when she was done smiled again. "He's alright…just a cut on his arm and little frightened." Anko stood back up and faced the mob.

"ANBU*Hmp*…I don't see the reason why your protecting him you should be protecting the people of Konoha!" Many within the crowd had shouted in agreement about protecting Naruto being an omen. The man quickly got angry and raised his voice over the mob to prove that he was angry.

"I _am_ protecting someone in Konoha!" the crowd grew silent when the man raised his voice to shouting, "WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND IS WHY HE'S CONSIDERED A THREAT TO YOU PEOPLE, THIS CHILD IS ONLY SIX YEARS OLD! THERE IS NO POSSIBILITY THAT HE COULD HURT ANYONE EXCEPT HIMSELF! YOUR ACTIONS ARE MEANINGLESS WHEN YOU SEND IT TOWARDS A HELPLESS CHILD!" Naruto was in a way shocked and thankful at what the man just said. No one has ever defended him before and he was always taking the punishment the adults gave him. Anko took this time to speak up and end this little conflict before someone got hurt.

"I suggest that all of you leave at once or we'll have the Hokage and his personal guard summoned out here." Kakashi took this time to charge his hand as lighting formed around it and the sounds of a thousand birds started to chirp. Anko gleamed at the reactions the villagers gave as they paled and left the trio in the alley. One of the villagers, that was stupid enough, mumbled something about a 'Snake Bitch' that, unfortunately was heard by Anko. "What did you just say?!" She took a step forward as snakes came out of her coat sleeves and watched as the man and a few others immediately ran. When everyone left she turned to Kakashi, "I thought that you weren't supposed to harm civilians."

"*sigh*doesn't mean that I can threaten them for their stupidity." Kakashi started to take off his cat mask as Anko turned around, walked to and squatted in front of Naruto again; she noticed his reactions to the tiniest movement and understood that he was acting on instinct. She smiled again and slowly put her arms around him and gave him a hug. Naruto didn't expect this and reacted on said instinct of retracting quickly and curling up into a ball again. He hid his face in his arms and began to cry, thinking that these people helped him only to hurt him themselves.

"Please…don't," Anko slightly frowned what he said until he clarified it to her, "…don't hurt me, okay?" Anko took a moment but understood what he wanted. She smiled again and saw that his guard was starting to ease as he moved to her slowly and slowly unwrapped himself from this ball form.

She wrapped him up into another hug and let her coat wrap around him to keep him warm. Naruto started crying silently, but this didn't go unnoticed by Anko she felt the warm tears touch her skin through the mesh on her body. She gently pulled out of the hug and looked Naruto in the face, seeing that his eyes were already red and puffy from the short amount of time he did cry.

"Hey…are you alright kid?" Naruto nodded numbly before he let out an unintentional yawn. Anko smiled when she smelled ramen in his breath and picked him up; she was shorter than an average person but she was still twice as tall a Naruto. Looking over to Kakashi she felt Naruto rub his head in the crook of her neck as the man lightly chuckled and gave her a wink, which she just scoffed at and began to walk out of the alley. "Should we take him to the Hokage? I mean he does need to hear about what happened just a few moments ago." Kakashi shrugged his shoulder and placed his cat mask back on and turned around as Anko shifted Naruto to her other shoulder and let his rest a bit better.

"I don't see why not...come on I'll escort you there, since a lot people probably heard what happened in that alley. You know…you actually look good holding him like that. It really suits your look to show that you're not like how you act all the time." Anko did the one thing about that most people didn't see and blushed a little at that comment. Shortly after she slammed her fist into Kakashi's arms and looked him in the eye. She talked calmly trying to not wake up the little boy in her arms.

"You didn't see anything, do you hear me?" Kakashi nodded his head at Anko. As the trio exited the alley, Anko noticed that the rain stopped and revealed that the sun was setting while also showcasing a beautiful rainbow and an encouraging sunset. Anko couldn't help but to smile at the mood that set for them at the moment: happiness. Anko tuned to Kakashi and smiled at the only person she saw a family; her big brother that understood her more than anyone else.

"Thanks Kakashi…this kid just feels different from everyone else. His eyes looked like mine…they had a lot of pain in them." Kakashi nodded again and began to walk to the Hokage Tower, fixing his mask onto his face again, and with Anko not far behind. None of them had seen the little girl that was watching with her white, lavender tinted eyes as she smiled at them walking away.

"Come on Hinata-sama…we must get back to the compound before it gets dark." The little girl nodded and walked in the other direction.

-Outside the Hokage Tower {30 minutes later}-

Arriving at the HokageTower with the sun setting awhile back, the trio was seen moving in the moonlight towards the main doors of the tower. When they reached the door Kakashi let out a yawn and turned to Anko as he pulled off his mask. Anko looked around and saw that no one was outside. Before she could ask if the Hokage was still at the tower Kakashi spoke up.

"Here we are one 'Escort to the Hokage's Tower'. *Yawn* it's getting late Anko…I'm going to go home; will you be okay from here?" Kakashi usually had his laid back demeanor tom rely on whenever he spoke. Despite the fact that he was feared in the battle field Anko knew that he just didn't care for everyday problems the villagers had and grew tired of all the stupid things they did whenever the feared something that they couldn't control. Anko nodded and walked up to the open door that Kakashi held for her and propped it open with her foot.

"Again thanks...I want to see what the old man says to this. This kid just went through hell today and no one even care for him except us." Anko turned to head into the tower, but stopped and said one thing to the retreating shinobi, "I was serious about finding me if ever want something to so that's fun...you're too stuck up on problems. Think about it because I know you need to relax more that you say." Kakashi just waved a hand in response and continued walking into the night.

One thought came to mind as Anko knocked on the door of Hiruzen Sarutobi; Otherwise known as "The Third Hokage" and looked at Naruto as he slept. 'I wonder if the old man will let me adopt of you.'

- Takigakure (Takikage's Office 2 weeks earlier) -

Within the village of Takigakure, The village hidden by a waterfall, a woman dressed in the Kage Robes the symbolize leadership was waiting in her office. The hat the kage with the kanji for waterfall on the front rested in her head. With a light series of knocks on her door she looked up and smile under her hat.

"Yes? Come in." The door opened up and a young, 6 year old girl with orange clip in her short, spiky mint green hair that matched her eye color and white Pajamas on walked on through the door. The Takikage smiled at the little girl was her daughter as she shifted in her pajamas. "Fū you should be in bed by now…what's wrong?" Fū was special in a way that she was the Takikage's own daughter, but also that she held the Seven-Tailed beast within her body. The girl was full of potential and her mother knew it; she also knew that with Fū having a demon sealed within her made her a target in the village.

"I had another nightmare again Kaa-san…I couldn't sleep. My back also started hurting again." The Takikage smiled again and motioned for Fū to come towards her. When Fū got close enough she was picked up and cradled in her mother's arms. Being her mother, the Takikage had a special way to calm Fū down whenever she had a nightmare.

"Listen to the song that heals all wounds." Fū soon heard the sound of her mother's sweet voice sing out a melody as she was rocked back and forth, soon overcome with the feeling of exhaustion Fū went to sleep. When she was sure that Fū was asleep, the Takikage check the seal that was on her daughter's back; she sighed in relief when she saw that it was still intact. "Always know Fū, that I will always love you even when I'm gone." The Takikage looked up when she heard her door open and a young man, around the age of 18, stepped inside her office.

"Sorry Kaa-san…I was looking for Fū and thought that you might have seen her." The young man, with black hair with tints of mint green on the edges and brown eyes that had on orange earrings bowed to his mother. He looked into his mother's arms and saw his sister sleeping peacefully. He smiled at how she looked before he looked to his mother and saw the seriousness in her face. The young man went up to his mother and took his sister in his arms.

"Kuno…when you've returned Fū to her room come here. I would like to speak with you about an important matter." The young man now named Kuno nodded and left to place his sister back into bed. When he returned The Takikage was staring out of her window. "Kuno…you know that I've chosen you as my successor when I step down as the Takikage, correct?"

"Of course I know Kaa-san; but…why did you call me to your office?" The Takikage turned around and removed her hat and placed on her desk. Her own long mint green hair fell down to her lower back as she tied it into a long ponytail. Her eyes just like her daughter's and skin just as smooth. She looked like a goddess to most men in the village and had many chance to remarry if she choose to.

"Kuno…today I went to the chambers that held the Hero's Water. When I check the water I had grown warm and the ponds started to grow moss within them." Kuno stiffened when he heard this; these signs were that of an omen showing that the Takikage's time in life was nearing an end. "I fear that I will die before my reign is over…and Fū will not be ready for her life when I'm gone. Kuno tonight may be my last night with both of you…So as of now…I officially appoint you as Takikage to the Village by a Waterfall."

"Thank you Kaa-san…I will do my best to protect the village and my sister." The Takikage nodded and looked out the window again. Kuno walked up to her desk and placed her hat on his head and smiled. The Takikage laughed at her son's antics and looked out the window again; she stopped and grew serious before she spoke.

"Kuno…go get your sister and bring her here. It's time." Kuno stopped laughing as well and nodded before he ran off to get his sister from her room. When Kuno left the room, the Takikage looked out the window again. "So…you've finally come. How has life been hmm? Are you here for my daughter?" Within a swirling vortex stepped out a man that had a mask on his face.

"To answer your questions in that order: Not as good as I had hoped it would be. My plan with the Kyūbi no Kitsune failed 6 years ago and I've been wounded since and yes your daughter is needed for my plan to finally commence. By the way, that was very touching with what you did with your son." The Takikage scoffed at him and turned around to look at him. He wore a black cloak with red clouds on it; an orange mask hid his face except for a hole that was placed over his right eye.

"Like I would actually care for you…you took away my husband and my children's father. I was wondering what happened to you all those years ago…Obito…" The man growled at the name as he looked at the former Takikage.

"That's no longer my name…I am now called 'Tobi'. You will respect me as you have when you've served me Tailem."

"I served you when I saw well into your heart…now you're just a shadow of your former self." 'Tobi' had enough an instantly flew towards Tailem with fire in his hand. Just when 'Tobi' lifted his hands Kuno and Fū burst through the doors.

"KAA-SAN NOOOO!" Both Kuno and Fū yelled as she was struck in the chest by 'Tobi'. Kuno pulled out his sword and charge at him only for him to disappear in a vortex uttering a farewell to the family. Fū immediately ran to her mother and began to cry as her mother moved her hand to Fū's face.

"Kaa-san…don't*sob*…don't leave me PL-*sob*PLEASE!" Kuno ran over to his family and immediately check the wound. When he tried to heal it his mother stopped him.

"Stop Kuno…*pant* this was *pant* supposed to *pant* happen." When Kuno nodded to Tailem as she moved her hand and wiped the tears from Fū's face. "Don't cry *pant* Fū…Just know *pant* that I will always *pant* love you both *pant* even when I'm gone. Kuno…I give both of you the power *pant* to everything that I have had…and *pant* Fū…I give you my necklace. Both of you need to carry one without me *pant* you must live…on…" Fū let all of her tear go and gripped her mother like a lifeline.

"KAA-SAN…KAA-SAN!" Kuno hung his head as he watched Fū hug their mom; begging her to not to leave them. As this was happening within the Hero's Water chamber the ponds started to clear up and cooled. With Kuno and Fū they watched as she started to glow and her chakra leave her body and enter Fū's body as it reinforced the seal on her back that was placed on her. Fū kept crying at the loss of her mother while Kuno went to her desk and opened it to retrieve the one thing that she always wore before she became Takikage: her wedding ring. Walking back to his family and placing the ring on her left finger, Kuno spoke quietly to her.

"You both shall love until death do you part…death will finally bring you two together once again. Good-bye…kaa-san…" Kuno looked at Fū and saw that she passed out from crying. Picking her up, Kuno placed her in a chair and did a prayer to his mother's body and watched as it started to disappear and outside the office everything started to snow. Going over to the desk Kuno quickly pulled out a piece of paper and quickly wrote down laws that would help out Fū. 'Sorry Fū…you'll need to leave soon. It's not going to be safe here for you anymore.'

- Takigakure {the next day} -

The people that woke in the morning the next day immediately saw the snow and knew what had happened to their Takikage. Immediately shops and building closed as people gathered to the tree that rested in the center of the village to pay their respects to the late Takikage. It was there that people found out that just before she died, Tailem named her son the new leader of the village. While many knew that he could lead the village into a right direction; other thought that he would only care for the vessel that held the Seven-tailed beast within his sister.

- Takigakure (Council Chambers) -

"We need act now...your sister should be used in the war against Kusagakure!"

"NO I'LL NOT HAVE MY SISTER PUT INTO THIS DAMN WAR! IF NEED BE I'LL EXILE HER FROM TAKIGAKURE TO KEEP HER AWAY FROM THIS WAR!" Many of the councilmen were livid at Kuno's attitude.

"You must understand Kuno that this for the village not for your own gain. We have the experience to advise you."

"THAT'S ALL YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO DO! ADVISE THE TAKIKAGE!" While the discussion was going on Fū was at Tailem's grave.

"Don't worry kaa-san...I'll protect the village at any cost to me."

A/N: Revised and edited, I'll be doing this over the others as well.


	2. Anko's Request & The Yesterday

A/N: The first few chapters are going to be on Naruto when he's still young then it'll be in the academy from then on.

"Human talk"

'Human thoughts'

_Flashback_

_- _Hokage Tower (Hokage's Room) -

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was in his office finishing up his paper work when he heard three gentle knocks on his door.

"Come in." Anko, which surprised Hiruzen, stepped in with Naruto sleeping in her arms and wrapped in her trench coat. Hiruzen, chuckling at the little scene, motioned Anko to come closer, which she did after placing Naruto on a chair so she could stretch.

"Sorry If I'm Intruding Hokage-sama."

"It's nothing to worry about Anko, but may I ask: why did you have that child in your arms?" Anko nodded after she bowed, she still has respect for some of her superiors, despite being only 15.

"I…Well Kakashi and I followed a small mob of people that were chasing someone…" Hiruzen only sighed at this and rubbed his temples, fully aware of what happened; still he nodded for Anko to continue. "We arrived a shortly after they stopped in an alley. We only to needed to see a male villager raised a makeshift weapon when we stepped in causing more of an uproar from the villagers. It took a little use of 'convincing words' to get them to leave, but they eventually did. We turned around to see this kid the source of the problems. We tried to talk to him with a little success before he passed out. We brought him here to give you a report on the situation." Hiruzen listened to Anko without letting it show that he was beyond pissed. Eventually he nodded again to Anko's conclusion before he spoke again.

"Anko this boy you've found is named Naruto Uzumaki, he is an orphan born on the day the Nine-tails attacked; I will not lie to you, this is not the first time this as happened to him." Anko looked at Naruto and then Hiruzen with wide eyes. "I know for a fact that with your intervention with the 'villager's problem' will only causes him to have worse problems." Anko had a hard time swallowing a lump that was growing in her throat. She looked at Naruto and saw that he was so calm and relaxed in her jacket. Getting an idea, Anko gathered the necessary courage she could before she spoke.

"Hokage-sama if I may…I'd like to propose a solution…" Hiruzen looked at Anko with curiosity before he waved his hand for her to continue. "I…well…I'd like to adopt Naruto as a son!" Hiruzen was, on his side, surprised that Anko suggested this.

"Would you care to explain your reason for this …Anko?" Hiruzen was speaking in his voice he used to conduct business. Anko on the other hand crossed her arms and spoke with an authority as best as she could.

"Like you said Hokage-sama 'Things will only get worse for him.' I'd like to take him in as a son because I am mostly my fault that he will likely receive these problems. The main thing that I proposed this is that Naruto is an orphan like you said, so taking him under my care will likely have an impact that he'll not have to suffer as much as were if he was alone. Also…this does benefit all three of use in a way: Naruto will have me to look after him and he'll have a family, I'll take responsibility for his actions and this will repay for bringing him problems, and you will know that he's in safe hands and will be able to check on him frequently if you wish." Despite looking Confident in her answer, Anko was seething with nervousness waiting for the Hiruzen's answer. Said man had taken out his pipe and had lit it, taking in a big puff before he looked at Anko.

"As much as I'd love that to be a solution to this…I'm afraid that Naruto isn't up for adoption." Anko felt like a Kunai had pierced her heart. She needed an answer to this.

"Why can't I take him?"

"I'm sorry Anko…but Naruto was supposed to be in an orphanage. Being that he was on the street means that he no longer is up for adoption." Seeing Anko become depressed at this Hiruzen decided to try to cheer her up. "Anko…I can see that you wish to take care of him because of what you caused for him. Tonight I'll let you take him to you house and watch over him." Anko visibly perked up at this. "Also I'll try to get info on Naruto to see if he is adopted. If he's not then there's only one person that can decide if you can call him your son…he'll likely be here tomorrow so I want you two both in here in the morning." Anko nodded her head eagerly at the news.

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Anko turned to pick Naruto again and headed for the door, but before she left Hiruzen spoke up again.

"Anko…When he wakes up, tell him everything that happened and what we discussed and make sure he tells you why he was out of the orphanage." Anko nodded at this and left Hiruzen to finish his work. Before he started he looked at a picture of a man with uncontrolled, sun-kissed hair and pure blue cerulean eyes. "I'm sorry Minato I wish this could've turned out better that you wanted."

-Anko's Apartment-

Arriving at her apartment, Anko immediately went to her room and laid on the bed with Naruto still in her grasp. Anko smiled at how he looked happy even though he went through a living hell today. Anko pulled a blanket over both of them and fell asleep with a wish that Naruto could be hers.

-Anko's Apartment [Naruto's POV]-

Naruto woke up feeling weirder that he usually did in the mornings: First off was the act that he was warm; something that he knew shouldn't exist in the dumpster he thought he was sleeping in. Second, was that he was stuck in a position of a ball and when he moved he heard something moaning; which leads to the final thing, he felt someone breathing on his head. Naruto tried to look up, as best as he could, and saw a woman that he didn't recognize; until yesterday's events came back into his head. Naruto mostly focused on what happened on before he was chased into the alley.

_*Flashback*_

_Naruto was walking to one of his favorite places in Konoha; Ichiraku Ramen when he spotted a group of boys, at least 3 years older than him, surrounding something. Being curious Naruto went to see what was happening. When he got closer he heard a girl crying, making him a little angry, until he saw her in a ball in the middle of the group. Naruto hated when people did this to others so he decided to help _

_"Hey...leave her alone!"Catching the group of bullies' attention Naruto to a walk forward. After a few insults were thrown around Naruto was facing 6 boys in front of him; using his title of being unpredictable and a knuckle-head he pulled out a pack of fireworks. As soon as he lit and threw it he made a mad dash for them quickly squeezing through and grabbing the girl. He kept running while holding the girl bridal style to the edge of the Market district. When he heard the sound of people yelling and crying he slowed to a stop and let out a laugh. Looking at the girl as he set her down, he noticed that she was intensively red.'Is she sick?'_

"_T-th-thank y-y-you." Naruto looked at her and gave her a fox-like smile that made her turn redder._

"_I wouldn't mention this to anyone…at all...and you're welcome. I hate when others treat people like the own them or that they're trash." _

"_W-wh- what's y-y-your n-na-name?" Naruto finally got to look at her;seeing that her eyes were white with a tint of lavender in them, flawless skin and a hair with a tint of blue one thought came to mind __ 'wow…she's really pretty.'_  


"_Sorry…it's better that you don't know" giving the girl another smile, that caused her to turn into another shade red, Naruto left, but before he could turn the girl gave him a hug; Naruto didn't expect this so he fell backwards on the floor. A villager, that 'happened' to pass by; saw the whole thing and yellrf out loud for everyone nearby to hear her._

"_DEMON!_ _LEAVE HER ALONE! YOU WON'T HURT OUR PRECIOUS HIERESS!"_

"_Damn…" The girl heard that and tightened her hold. Before she could ask anything, Naruto was gone and her arms held nothing but air. Naruto just left before he started to cry and run in any direction just to survive. He only heard the villagers yelling at him and felt the rain start to fall, along with a broken bottle that managed to cut his arm; then the wall he ran into made the rest all a blur._

_*Flashback End*_

After he finished that thought Naruto shook his head and remembered that he was still in someone's house, in their arms, and still hadn't found a way out. Looking at the desk across the room Naruto saw a stuffed fox on the top. 'Is that a toy?' Pushing that thought down Naruto wished that he could move his hands so he could try to do the hand seals needed to pull the Substitution Jutsu. Instead he thought of what Iruka had said about if someone concentrated enough then the seals weren't needed. Seeing as he had no choice Naruto closed his eyes and began to focus.

After he opened them he looked around and found that he was on the desk instead of in the woman's arms (If he also looked into a mirror he would've seen that his eyes changed). Smiling at his accomplishment Naruto hopped off the desk and walked to the door taking one last look at the person sleeping on the bed. Naruto left and found the kitchen of the apartment; going through the fridge Naruto found some eggs and meat.

Despite looking like a little twiggy, Naruto knew how to cook thanks to the Ayame and Teuchi; the owners of Ichiraku Ramen.

"There we go." After a good 20 minutes of cooking Naruto had prepared a large platter of food in front of him. 'Maybe I made too much.' Settling on giving the rest to the woman sleeping Naruto ate his share and set the rest up in the room with a card. Leaving via window, cause he never really caring for the doors, Naruto jumped out on the rooftops and headed to a place where he knew he could continue to train.

Never having anyone to teach him Naruto developed a sense of many things and was actually good at fighting and creating a simple jutsu from Iruka when he had time. Arriving at the gates; a surge of fear reached Naruto at staring into Training Ground 44: The Forest of Death. Feeling ready to start anything Naruto went forward to train.


	3. Ominous Dream

A/N: To those that care don't know what a 'Harem' is along with a majority of things except the fact that a 'Lemon' is some sort of sex scene. If anyone could bring me to light about this thank you. Also things sill clear up in the next few chapters.

"Human talk"

'Human thoughts'

_Flashback/Dreams/Memories_

_-Dream-_

_Anko didn't know what was happening except the fact that she was in a familiar area of town running with Naruto while trying to keep some villagers and Shinobi away from them. She had Naruto with her holding his hands as she ran in any random direction. Anko felt a tug on her hand that made her turn to see him fall on the floor, causing her heart almost seem like it stopped. The villagers also stopped and turned to leave while Anko kneeled next to Naruto. What she saw made her heart stop; Naruto had an assortment of weapons stuck in him; the most pronounced ones were the Kunai in his heart and shuriken that was lodged in his abdomen. Seeing him in state this caused Anko to hold him tight, praying that he was okay she started to cry._

"_T-th-this i-is y-your f-fau-fault." Anko looked at him with shock in her eyes. She began to shake her head denying that claim and that Naruto was dying._

"_No…"_

"_Y-y-you d-did t-th-this."_

"_No!..."_

"_Y-y-you l-let t-th-this h-ha-happen"_

"_NO!" Anko was shaking her head hard. Naruto kept saying that he was dying because of her. Anko couldn't accept that so she kept holding him._

"_L-let m-me g-go"_

"_NO!"_

"_Plea…se…" Anko widen her as when she realized that Naruto wasn't breathing. When she saw that the energy starting to leave his eyes she put him in the floor and began to pump his chest._

"_NARUTO!...DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON ME!...NARUTO!...STAY WITH ME!" Anko was still trying to pump his chest but was crying her eyes out. Naruto kept looking at her with unblinking eyes as she kept on trying to bring him back. She didn't want to accept the fact that he was dead but she slowed into a stop and instead just held him close gently stoking his hair. She already knew loss, but this was nothing compared the others; it was far worst that anything she had faced. Losing someone you wanted to look after that was a heavy toll on Anko…now she was crying her eyes out oblivious to the heavy rain that was coming down. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry Naruto…this…this is my fault…" Anko held him tighter the more she realized that she was the cause of everything. "First Orochimaru left me…then I get you killed... Why can't I ever be happy?" Anko pondered this as she held Naruto._

"_Well…looks like you take after me Hm?" Anko's eyes shot open at that voice; looking up she saw the person that created it._

"_Orochimaru" Anko's voice was laced with venom. She didn't know why he was here, but she could see trouble coming._

"_Now…is that anyway to treat your sensei?" His voice was making Anko angrier; she could tell that Orochimaru was toying with her. Knowing that trouble was coming soon, she pulled out a kunai and got ready to defend herself and Naruto's corpse._

"_You're not my sensei!"_

"_Aw… well then I can see that I still have another one to take…" Anko was looked confused at this and was wondering what he was talking about. Suddenly she felt a shift in her arms; looking down at Naruto she saw that his eyes were now red with slits in his eyes. He was getting up despite the multiple weapons in his body._

"_Naruto?"_

"_There…all better…do you like it Anko? This is the work of a forbidden Jutsu I learned recently." Anko looked at Orochimaru with hatred. She turned to Naruto and watched as he pulled out the weapons in his body; the disgusting sound of the wet meat and muscle that tried to suck the weapons back in was getting louder as he pulled more out._

"_What have you done?" Anko was still sitting on the floor, her body was unresponsive and started to get numb but she looked at Orochimaru with the hatred she still had for him._

"_Why Anko whatever do you mean?" Orochimaru teased, "I'm only trying to get a new apprentice." Looking at Naruto as he pulled out the last of the blades from his body, Orochimaru smiled and looked at Anko. "See? There's no harm done to him; good as new." Orochimaru's smile faltered into a frown. "But there is one thing that makes this jutsu forbidden." Anko looked at him with a confused look. "This only works if there is a sacrifice for the body's soul." _

"_What do mean 'a sacrifice for the body'?!" Anko was full of different emotions right now, Hatred for Orochimaru, sadness for Naruto, and guilt for letting him die were the most dominate of them all._

"_Now young one…you can like to stay like this…all you need to do is take this person's life as you own. This is the sacrifice for which you need." Anko's eyes widened at this and got up into a defensive stance. She needed to live but she didn't want to hurt Naruto even if he was trying to kill her. She didn't get a chance to move because a flare of chakra came from Naruto that knocked her down, and made every nerve in her body go numb once again, so she couldn't move. She looked at Naruto and saw that a shroud of blood red chakra was flickering around him like a fire. As he stepped closer the features of his face: there were whisker marks on his face that looked deep, his canines were growing and looked like fangs, his hair had grown more wild, and his fingernails had grown into claws._

"_Naruto…" Anko tried to move but couldn't. "Naruto…No…" Naruto stepped closer and closer to her. "Don't do this…Naruto listen to me!..." Naruto didn't stop; instead he just raised his hand and brought it down. Anko widen her eyes and started to scream. "NO! NARUTO! NO! STOP! STOP! NO! NO! NO!"_

-Anko's Bedroom-

"NO!" Anko shot up started to look around and see if she was still alive, throwing the fox doll I the process. Easing up at the fact that everything was a dream, her guard instantly went up again when she heard the sound of something falling outside her room. Anko decided that checking it out was better than doing nothing, so she just got up and headed out since she was still dressed from yesterday; something that Anko couldn't remember and was really trying to do so.

-Kitchen/Dining room-

"Well hey there sleepy head; enjoy your rest?" Anko was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound silverware clinking and the sudden voice. Looking at her table Anko saw two of a few people that don't hate her because of her past: Kurenai Yūhi and Asuma Sarutobi.

"Uh…what…are …you doing here?" Anko was still processing the fact they were sitting at her table and eating.

"Well…your window was open…so we decided that it would be okay to stop in and say 'hi'…so hi." Anko looked at the direction Kurenai was pointing and saw that her window was wide open. 'Did I leave that open all night?' The sound of silverware came up again and Anko looked to the table to see a large platter of food on the top. She sat down across from Asuma and started to reach for the food. 'Did make that?' Asuma broke the silence of the room first with one simple statement.

"Hey Anko…this is really good. I didn't know you could cook." Kurenai shook her head and gave Asuma a light smack on the back of his head. "What?"

"I swear to Kami you so annoying to be around sometimes Asuma." Anko smiled at the two, seeing that these were two that she could act normally around. Kurenai looked at Anko and handed her a card. "Here…this was on beside the platter when we came in…didn't open it cause was addressed to you." Anko looked at the small card and saw that it did have her name on it. When she opened it up she started to read it while eating.

_Thank You lady_

_This is for you. _

_-Naruto Uzumaki_

Anko was in mid drink when she read the name on the card and immediately spit out everything in her mouth, which unfortunately landed all on Asuma. What fell out of the card were 5 bills; worth 100 ryo each. Kurenai saw everything and couldn't help but laugh at Asuma when he was hit.

"It serves you right for making that statement earlier."

"Yea, yea, yea….man karma's a bitch."

"And her name is Anko…" Kurenai looked at said person and immediately dropped her smile. "Hey Anko…is something wrong?" Anko looked at Kurenai before it registered what happened.

"Besides the fact that the joke you used wasn't really funny? Yea there's something wrong." Kurenai was about to speak when Anko got up and head for the window. "Kurenai…can you help look for someone?"

"Sure. Who's the person?" Anko smirked at her.

"It's someone who's going to regret leaving." Kurenai shivered at that before she turned around and call out to Asuma.

"Hey Asuma…clean the place up while where gone." Hearing a large sigh and a sturdy 'Fine' Kurenai left out the window to follow Anko.

A/N: There you go one chapter to update this story. Again anyone that could fill me in on what a harem; and other things, will be credited.

Also here are the ages of everyone to in the story as of now.

Anko's age: 15

Asuma's age: 22

Hiruzen's (Third Hokage) age: 63

Kakashi's age: 21

Kurenai's age: 22

Naruto's age: 6


	4. Fox Hunt (Part 1)

A/N: I'd like to thank yukicrewger2 for info on what a Harem is so I'll try not to do that.

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks_

_**Summoning/ Jutsu**_

- Konoha Rooftops -

Anko was pissed beyond her average point. Her reason: she has been looking everywhere for Naruto for 3 hours and still can't find him. Kurenai wasn't any better considering that she was basically following Anko and looking for someone who she didn't even know how they looked. Deciding that this needed to stop, she finally spoke up.

"Anko…can we please give this up? We've been looking for hours; eventually you'll see whoever this person is. It's not like the Hokage needs to see him right?" At that Anko stopped and looked at Kurenai.

"Well… it's not like he needs to see him immediately…"

"Anko…"

"…but he does need to see him sometime today." At this Kurenai's eye gave a little twitch

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? You know that right? It could have helped us more." Seeing that Kurenai was older and that she treated Anko like a sister; Anko flinched when Kurenai yelled. Calming her voice to let out a little bit annoyance Kurenai spoke, "Anko…" at this said person looked at her reluctantly "… Is there something else you'd like to tell me?" Giving her a stare that caused Anko to lose faith in her voice Kurenai just looked on towards her friend.

"No…" Anko crossed her arms and gave into her inner thoughts. 'Man being 15 sucks. This is what I get for helping someone for once'

"Anko" Kurenai gave another look at Anko who finally hung her head in defeat. Kurenai knew Anko only put up that 'Take No Bullshit from Anyone' act up when she was in the village or when she was hiding something.

"Alright it's a kid named Naruto Uzumaki…I was supposed to bring him to the Hokage for a certain purpose."

"What? You mean that kid that lives in the orphanage?" Anko decided to keep her mouth shut, nod and continue to search. Kurenai just continued looked at her. One thought came to mind for her to help out and end this. "Anko wait!"

"What?"

"Why don't we just ask the Inuzuka clan for help since…you know…one of their specialties is tracking?" Anko felt like smacking herself on her head realizing that was the first thing she would have done except…

"I can't…" Kurenai snapped her head towards Anko.

"What?"

"I said 'I can't'" Anko repeated.

"Why?"

"The clan and clan head doesn't really see 'eye-to-eye' with me."

"Tsume Inuzuka?"

"Yea…that's the one." Kurenai thought at this; she didn't get why Tsume, the clan head of the Inuzukas, hated Anko. What puzzled her more was the fact that Anko seemed 'scared' of mentioning it. "Let's just say that Orochi-teme's apprenticeship of me really affected the clan and leave it at that." Kurenai knew what that meant, but she decided to keep her mouth shut until Anko started to leave her behind and just out of ear-shot.

"Anko…"

- Forest of Death (Unknown Location) -

Within a small enclose of trees we see Naruto finishing up his training. The Hokage told him to practice the ability to throw straight since his coordination was shot to hell and both of them knew it. He was also trying to figure out why his eyes changed its shape earlier. He knew that it was something that a clan had so must be a part of him but because he doesn't know any clan with it, so he was puzzled on if he was a part of a clan. The only thing that he knew was that a clan always had more than one person in them. Finishing up his target practice by throwing rocks across the water, Naruto did the only thing that kept him on track whenever he comes here: he talked to himself and voiced his thoughts.

"I need to ask the old man what's wrong with my eyes. It's not that I don't like how they look…It's just that I don't think I should have them. Also…are there others like me?" Naruto was only here because it was a place for him to think and let his emotions go. It also helped that he was able to focus on what he wanted and didn't have him pretend that he was an idiot out in the public. Yep…Naruto Uzumaki is pretending to be an idiotic, loudmouth, disrespecting, and hyperactive knuckle-head so a lot the villagers would leave him alone. "I'll have to thank the old man for suggestion too."

"You know…it's not that healthy to talk to yourself right?" Naruto immediately jumped up and, in his fear, followed his basic instincts of protection and attack. When he jumped up, Naruto pulled a string that had the effects work by immediately bounding his attacker's feet and sent rusted kunai flying. 'Hm…he actually set up traps…impressive.' With that thought the attacker jumped out of the way only to have a log come swinging at him. Unfortunately he didn't expect to easily destroy the trap and have another break apart and come at him. 'Deception this kids been working at this...' When the logs connected Naruto set to work and jumped on this person and tied the log pieces together forming a cage. When all was said and done, with not much being said, Naruto had one thought come in, 'Finally…I didn't think anyone would find me here.'

"Alright…who are you and why did you attack me?" The one within the tied logs looked up and Naruto saw that the person was a ninja based on his headband covering his left eye and the fact that this guy was wearing a flak jacket that showed that he was atleast a Chunin. He was also wearing a mask that pretty much covered half of his face and surprisingly white, gravity defying hair, but Naruto could care less about this person that 'attacked' him.

"Well now…is that anyway to treat someone who wanted to talk?" Naruto was thrown off when he heard this guy speak, 'where have I heard this guy before?' Said man within the cage got up and disappeared in a simple poof of smoke. Before Naruto even noticed; he was now in the cage, tied up while this man was on the outside reading an orange book. "Listen…aside from the fact that you just attacked _me_…you're also in a restricted area meant only for ninja." Looking at Naruto over the top of the book he continued, "But…I have to admit I never expected you set up traps around here to keep out anything. Also I never knew that this place even existed; it looks like a beautiful place for someone to train. Maybe bring-"

"How did you find me?" Naruto cut off, unknowingly he channeling chakra to his arms because of his anger that someone found _his _secret place. "I know that you used a _**Substitution Jutsu**_ just now to escape and that you're a ninja, but how did you find me? No one ever looks here; not in the 'Uzumaki Grove'."

"Uzumaki Grove…Is that what you call this place?"

"Yea named after me: Naruto Uzumaki founder and soon to be ninja in two years." This man's eyes widened in surprise 'this is the Uzumaki child? Well he looks good and prepared to be a ninja. I didn't expect him to actually look like this since I didn't get a good look at him in a year.'

"Two years? Why not now, I mean you can enroll as soon as you turn six so why wait?" Naruto looked at this man and studied him. He knew how people lied to him constantly so he learned to actually study how they act on the spot. He started to calm down, and in effect stop channeling chakra to his arms.

"I'm waiting because…the old man said that I'm still learning and that the people there will just treat me like everyone else; but in two years most of those people will leave and then I can go." Looking at Naruto and seeing if there was any deception, the ninja finally started lifted up the cage, which was surprisingly heavy for him to lift since it looked really thin and fragile, and let Naruto crawl out like a worm. After setting the cage down, he picked up the rusted kunai and inspected it. 'This thing isn't repairable; it's amazing that these didn't break when he launched them at me.' Putting the kunai down, he looked at Naruto, unbound and free, pulling on a rope and lifting the cage up again. After watching Naruto reset the traps the ninja spoke up.

"So…Naruto was it? How about we go and get something to eat. You seem like you were training since this morning and I think you deserve a meal for your dedication of becoming a ninja." Naruto looked at the ninja who somehow made his eye shape into a 'U' shape to show that he was happy.

"I was training since the sun came up; after I left some nice lady's house." At that the ninja looked at Naruto; he was about to ask who but Naruto beat him to it. "I don't know who she was; all I know is that she rescued me yesterday and brought to her house to sleep in for the night. She was really pretty she had purple hair that was put in a clump, brown eyes, and really soft skin."

"Huh…well if see her today why don't you thank her?"

"I did…I cooked breakfast for her when she was still asleep."

"Breakfast…what did you cook? adding to that you can cook?"

"of course old man Teuchi and Ayame-nee-chan showed me. for what I cooked...it was only what she had: eggs with all those other things in it, thin meat that was really crispy, I made some bread, and some of that black stuff parents like to drink to wake up." (A/N: Omelets, Bacon, Biscuits, and Coffee)After a registering what Naruto said and laughing at what Naruto could make the ninja started to walk away.

"C'mon let's get something to eat…by the way my name is Kakashi Hatake. I found you cause I felt chakra being used near here and decided to see what was causing it" Naruto nodded and ran after Kakashi back into town to get some food; Kakashi pulled out his little orange book while Naruto looked at his shoes. Along the way they both thought of that lady helped Naruto; Kakashi and Naruto in that respective order had the following thoughts.

'Anko…you really pulled through on this, way to go…maybe you could raise this kid like a son.'

'Whoever that lady was I wish that she could be like my mom. She was really nice...and really pretty.' Neither of the two knew how right they were with their own thoughts.


	5. Fox Hunt (Part 2)

A/N: I got nothing

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks_

- Inuzuka Compound (Meeting Room) -

Right now Anko and Kurenai were kneeling in front of Tsume Inuzuka. Despite Anko's protests on finding Naruto with the Inuzukas; Kurenai dragged her to the compound to ask for help…at least they were about to before Anko sneezed.

"Sorry…" Kurenai just shook her head and sighed when they both heard Tsume start to talk.

"Explain to me why you need the help of my clan?" Anko looked at Kurenai, who's only response was to nod her, before turning to Tsume and sighing in utter defeat and began.

"We're looking for someone that is we haven't seen since yesterday. He's not that hard to miss but we've…we've been looking for three hours before we came to you and your clan for help."

"And…surely if you've seen them yesterday they'll return by the end of today." Tsume looked at Anko and noticed her movements and expressions, 'Sad demeanor…check, defeated attitude…check, reluctant to ask for help…check and finally head hanged in a fashion of failure…check. This person clearly means a lot to this one.'

"Well…Tsume-sama, this boy is a target for many people and Anko here was supposed to keep an eye out for him for the night and bring him to the Hokage for a certain discussion." Tsume looked at Anko who only kept her head down, before turning back to Kurenai.

"Do you know the boy's name?" Kurenai looked at Anko and signaled her to tell. Anko simply felt like she was thin ice so she spoke carefully; she already has this clan trying to claw her guts she doesn't want to add the leader of them to that list.

"The boy…the boy's name is…is Naruto Uzumaki." Tsume's eyes widened and looked at Anko.

"I see…normally I ask for a name because my clan can follow their scents around the town…" at this Anko started to become positive again until the bad news came to out, "…Unfortunately, the boy that you want us to find is not one of them. He is one that constantly manages to avoid and evade us despite wearing that hideous jumpsuit of his. The only one that I know will likely find him is my daughter Hana but even then it is a slim chance that you'll find him." At this Anko looked a little saddened at this before looking at Tsume again.

"If it's alright with you Tsume-sama…can Hana join us in searching for Naruto?" Tsume looked at Anko with a surprised look. 'Surely this is not the same girl my clan spoke of…this girl doesn't look like someone who would follow Orochimaru around…she's too kind and gentle not loud and rude like everyone said she acted.' Kurenai looked at what unfolded and watched as Anko tried to ask for help despite, for some reason, being hated by the clan because she followed Orochimaru. Tsume was also pleased that Anko was trying her hardest to get permission to have Hana join them in their search. Eventually Tsume broke at Anko's request.

"Of course…but I ask that Kurenai stay here to discuss some things with me." Anko looked at Kurenai and rubbed the back of her head in worry. Kurenai looked at Anko before shaking her head and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Alright I'll stay." Tsume grinned and turned to one of the servants and spoke.

"Get Hana in here immediately." With a nod the servant left and 5 minutes later a 12 year old girl came through the door.

"Mom…one of the servants said that you needed me?"

"Yes Hana; this is Anko Mitarashi I want you to help her find Naruto…it seems that he is lost." Looking over towards Anko, Hana smiled and walked up to her with an outstretched hand. Anko shook it slowly as Hana introduced herself.

"Hana Inuzuka, Inuzuka clan tracker, at your service…did Naruto get lost in the forest again?" Anko was surprised at the question.

"Forest?"

"Yeah…he says that he usually goes there when he doesn't want to stay in the village; the Hokage is the only one that actually knows where is all the time, but I still look for him now and then to talk. It's really hard to find him because his scent is a mixture of different things in the forest compared to everyone else that usually has one or two scents." Tsume looked shocked at this, but kept it hidden and continued to look at her daughter. Anko and Kurenai on the other hand…well both of them looked at Hana as though she was grew a second head. Seeing that everyone was looking at her Hana became nervous. "Did I say something wrong?" Tsume laughed a little at this, shaking her head she put an arm on Hana's shoulder.

"No honey…you actually gave us some rather valuable information. We're just surprised that you know this kind of thing about Naruto…no one in the clan has ever seen you with him. Everyone says that you're always in the compound or at the Vet's helping around there."

"That's because I only see him by chance…He always tries to hide from everyone. I've tried to look for him but when I try to get his scent it's always mixed, and the strongest scent on him was the smell of dirt." Tsume only nodded in understanding.

"I see dirt is all around us and in the air so we can't track where he is." Tsume looked at Hana before she turned to Anko.

"I suggest that you both head out…you'll need a lot of time to find Naruto." Both Hana and Anko nodded, but before leaving the room Anko expressed her gratitude to Tsume. Kurenai sighed at how Anko sometimes acted like a typical teen when it came to getting what she wanted and receiving it. Tsume snapped Kurenai out of her thoughts by asking questions.

"How long have you known Anko?"

- Inuzuka Compound (Outside) -

Anko and Hana were just exiting the compound when they saw an interesting sight saw they reached the street. By chance they saw a blur of orange that was oddly laughing, cross in front of them followed by the color of black and green. Anko realized that those other colors were that of the ANBU and Chunin and Jonin and that the orange blur was Naruto.

"Looks like Naruto strikes again…" Hana began to walk in the direction of the chase.

"What?"

"Naruto likes to prank a lot of the people here…I think those that were following him were trying to catch him."

"You mean that Naruto is able out run ANBU?"

"I guess…if he is able to do that then it's really impressive that he can." Nodding at that Anko began to walk with Hana towards the chase. Both of them slightly sweatdropping at the results that they were seeing of the Shinobi and Kunoichi that failed to catch Naruto. They were near a fence when they saw Naruto talking to a man with white gravity defying hair.

- Konoha (Random Street) -

"Where is he?"

"Does anyone see him?"

"How do we lose a child that was wearing orange?"

"Split up he's bound to pop up again."

ANBU and various shinobi and Kunoichi ran by asking if there was anybody that seen Naruto; others were stressing the fact that they lost him even though he was wearing orange. If anyone was paying attention then they would have noticed that the fence was just a little off. When everyone left, Naruto peeled of the camouflage that he was using to blend in.

"Man…those guys need glasses…I can't believe that the old man hired people that can't even find me."

"On the contrary…there are those that do pay attention to their surroundings." Naruto froze before turning around and looking up at the fence. On the top of said fence was the man that Naruto was trying to ditch when he had enough of things. "I see that you wanted to get acquainted with your 'soon to be' fellow shinobi."

"Well if you sped up on picking up our food then I wouldn't have had some fun to stop the boredom." Kakashi sighed, knowing that Naruto was right; he did take too long getting their food.

"Still I expected you to atleast tell me where you're going. I'm afraid of what might happen if I turn my back to you for even a second. Anyway here…I think you left this with me?" Pulling out a container from out of nowhere, Kakashi gave Naruto a pair of chopsticks. Naruto immediately sat down and began to eat as if there was no tomorrow.

"Slow down Naruto…no one's going to take it from you." Both Naruto and Kakashi turned to the source of the voice and saw Anko with a 12 year old girl.

"Hana-nee-chan!" Naruto put his food down and got up to hug Hana when she was close enough. Anko, even more so Kakashi, was surprised that Naruto knew this girl, considering that what they saw yesterday. When Naruto broke the hug he was practically bouncing from where he was and wanted to get to the point. "What are you doing here nee-chan?" Anko was the one to beat Hana when she saw that Naruto was confused.

"We were looking for you gaki. I was supposed to take you to see the Hokage." Naruto turned to Anko and immediately recognized her.

"Hey you're that pretty lady that helped my yesterday!" Both Anko and Hana were surprised that Naruto 'knew' Anko. Anko also felt happy that Naruto complimented her "Thank you for helping me from those mean people yesterday!" When Hana heard that she immediately knew what happened.

"You're welcome gaki…come on we need to get you to see the Hokage." Hearing Naruto's stomach growl made Anko stop. "Well…how about after you're done eating okay?" Naruto nodded and went back to his food while Anko and Kakashi turned to Hana. "Nee-chan?"

"Naruto looks at me as a sister, one that makes him safe when I'm around; that's how I knew how he was when he was mentioned." Kakashi nodded.

"Understandable…when we walked by a ramen stand Naruto also called another girl 'nee-chan'. She also seemed to accept it and waved back at Naruto before going back inside."

"So the gaki has a little improvised family huh?" Both Hana and Kakashi nodded before something came up that Hana wanted to find out.

"Can I ask why you were looking for Naruto? I mean the Hokage would probably send out his own personal guard to find Naruto, but you came looking for him instead." Anko looked at Kakashi, who just shrugged. Anko sighed, 'I knew someone would catch on eventually.'

"Alright…if you promise to keep it from Naruto; I'll tell you." Hana nodded while Kakashi went over to talk to Naruto to keep him distracted. "The reason that I was looking for Naruto is the same reason that the Hokage wants to talk to him: Adoption. I saw him yesterday being attacked by the villagers, so I went ahead and got in the way. After the crowd left I took Naruto to the Hokage who said that he couldn't do anything about it. I offered to adopt him, but with Naruto being on the streets meant that he was already adopted. The Hokage told me to watch him for the night and come back today with Naruto so I could see if I could adopt him." Hana was, in a word, speechless; she never knew that Naruto was on the streets so when she heard this she was happy and glad that Anko found him.

"So you're going to Naruto's mom?"

"Hopefully I will 'cause can't stand to see the way this village treats him." Hana nodded.

"Do you mind if my mom and I come along? We both care for Naruto so we want to be there if he does get adopted." Anko though about this before she smiled at the thought. 'Two witnesses…they can tell others that Naruto is my son. This could work in my advantage'

"Sure we'll stop by your house and get your mom to come with us." Hana smiled just as Naruto finished his food and Kakashi came back. Naruto ran up to Hana and began to walk to the Hokage Tower. Anko had one thought come to mind 'Anko Mitarashi-Uzumaki I like the sound of that.'


	6. Anko Mitarashi-Uzumaki

A/N: I still got nothing

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks_

Inuzuka Compound (Main Entrance)

Anko, Naruto, Kakashi and Hana were waiting for Tsume Inuzuka and Kurenai at the entrance. When everyone got to the compound Hana Immediately ran inside to her mom and told her everything that happened; despite the fact that Anko told her to keep quiet about it and that Kurenai was there. Needless to say Tsume and Kurenai were both surprised and told Hana to wait outside for them so that they could finish talking. At the entrance Naruto was talking to Hana about what happened the day before and Anko was talking to Kakashi about a certain subject: a house.

"So…where will you live if this goes through?" Anko stopped when the question hit her and looked at Naruto while she thought about this.

"I didn't think of that…it wasn't cramped on my bed last night, but Naruto was in a ball when we went to sleep." Anko mused in her thoughts until something came up "Maybe I can ask the Hokage for a bigger place to live." Kakashi looked at Anko and knew that was the only choice she had for now

"That _may_ work, but then again that also means that he's going to stick his neck out for you again."

"Yes…but this also means that he's risking his neck for Naruto too and I think Naruto is one of the soft spots the big man has so he'll likely agree. Besides what do you really know about the gaki that I don't know?" What Kakashi said next made time itself seem to stop for Anko.

"I knew who his parents were before…all this happened." Anko stopped and looked at Kakashi.

"You knew Naruto's real parents?" Anko half whispered/half yelled.

"Yep; I trained under one of them myself. That and I know how his father fought so I can teach him that style" Anko looked at Kakashi with a surprised look before she smirked and made Kakashi feel insecure for the moment.

"I don't think that is going to go as planned Kakashi. I am going to be his mother so I need to see if he actually needs training." This of course didn't bother Anko, she knew that Naruto needed to train; she just needed to see how much. "Still…you're here offering, so you can at least try to train him; but I think…no I_ know_ that eventually he'll make his own style."

"I know, but even then becoming his trainer is something that I still won't be able to do for a while on the fact that I have to do missions like any other ninja in this world. Naruto will need more than me to teach him."

"I'll teach him…after I reach full Jonin status of course; along with Kurenai and Asuma if they want to help. While that happens you can at least be there for him an uncle or something."

"Why not like a father?" Anko tripped in her step and fell on the ground causing any adult who was watching to chuckle. When she got up Anko looked at Kakashi with a tic-mark on her head that Kakashi knew was not good. Hell Kakashi knew her for only a few years, but he knew that if she gets a tic-mark on her head then hell will be let loose on a poor soul; unfortunately for him, he was that soul.

"Because…I'd rather have him become like me that have you around him teaching him how to be a pervert and constantly be late." Anko started to calm down as she kept going. "You being a father to him are like Orochi-teme becoming Hokage: It's possible, but the results _will_ be disastrous. Also I see you as an older brother…you looked out for me when everyone else didn't so I say that you're going to be an uncle to him." Kakashi was going to put up an argument but found that Anko was thinking with her head, which was rare; and he was known to be perverted and late constantly, plus he had to admit.

"Habits die hard you know." Anko lightly laughed and continued.

"I'll say…just try to be there for him like an uncle and if you have time…teach him something. If not then don't worry I'll keep an eye out for him." Just that conversation finished Tsume and Kurenai came out of the doors. Everyone looked at said duo and notice a rather large dog with an eye patch on his right eye.

"Kaa-san…do you have to bring him with you?" Tsume smiled, which looked feral, at Hana which in turn, scared Naruto and put Anko on alert to watch out for the dog and Tsume. 'I knew I had a scary smile, but she takes the cake with hers.'

"Yes I do Hana; you know that we Inuzukas are known for having our companions with us. Speaking of which where are yours?" Hana scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously.

"Um, well…you see…"

"I thought so, now come on let's go see the Hokage." Tsume noticed that Naruto was hiding behind Hana and was shaking at the dog, so she bent down to his level and smiled with a little more comfort. "Do not worry Naruto my friend here will not bite." Seeing that Naruto relaxed a bit Tsume ruffled his hair before looking at her partner. "Would you like to ride on him?" Naruto looked at the dog before nodding his head. Tsume picked him up and placed him on the dogs back. "Kuromaru let him ride on you for a bit." Shocking everyone the dog spoke in a low voice.

"Alright I'll try not to let him fall." Anko and Kurenai were, by now, freaked and both had the same thought go through their minds. 'I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEIR DOGS COULD TALK!' everyone else, save for Hana and Tsume, were visibly shaken at this. Still when he got over his initial shock, Naruto happily sat on the dog and began to ask him questions when they all walked to the Hokage Tower. On the way Tsume and her partner told everyone that only he had the ability to talk, but wouldn't reveal how it was possible. They also stated that Kuromaru wasn't a summon.

- Hokage Tower (Hokage's room) -

Hiruzen was smoking his pipe when he heard knocking on his door. When the door opened he was surprised that Naruto rode in on a dog while everyone else came in. 'Tsume, Hana, Kurenai, and Kakashi? Well it looks like Anko will some people as witnesses to this, maybe…'

"HI Ojii-san!" Hiruzen was pulled out of his thoughts by Naruto shouting and Anko knocking him on the head, while everyone else just sweat-dropped at the two. '…maybe this was a bad idea for Anko.'

"Quiet gaki the Hokage is a powerful person, you can't just yell in their office when you enter!" Anko looked at Naruto who was rubbing his head.

"It's alright Anko; Naruto always say that and it doesn't bother me as much." The truth being that he let Naruto call him that because being called Hokage always made him fell old. Everyone else in the room looked at the Hokage and Naruto; all with one single thought. 'Naruto gets to call the Hokage 'grandpa'!' Kakashi came up to Hiruzen and bowed before he spoke.

"Sorry if we were interrupting anything lord Hokage, but Anko said that you requested them both her and Naruto in your office today."

"Indeed I did, this matter is one that will change everyone's lives. It's about…" Hiruzen was cut off by Hana before he got to finish.

"Is it true that you're going to let Anko adopt Naruto?" Everyone turned to Hana while Tsume knocked her on the head; both her and Anko mumbling about loud-mouth brats. Naruto on the other hand was looking at Anko and Hiruzen with side eyes. Hiruzen noticed this and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Yes that is correct Hana; Anko here has offered to take Naruto under as her adoptive son. She was to come here in the morning, but knowing Naruto he made things difficult by leaving; and by the sound of things with the ninja here he also played another prank." Everyone Anko looked down as if ashamed, while Naruto still didn't make any contact. Looking at Naruto, Hiruzen nodded to Kakashi, who in turn walked up to Naruto and lifted his headband. Tsume and Anko were shocked that they saw the Sharingan in his left eye. When Naruto saw this he immediately came out of his trance and yelled before falling off Kuromaru.

"W-what is w-wrong with y-your eye?!" Naruto stuttered a bit as he looked at Kakashi's eye. Kakashi simple closed his eye and replaced the headband over his left eye.

"Nothing really; that eye you saw was one that belongs to the Uchiha. It was a teammate of mime that gave it to me." Satisfied at that answer, more importantly to change the subject Naruto looked at Anko.

"Are you really going to adopt me?" Anko nodded at him and smiled.

"Believe it gaki." Before she knew what hit her Anko found Naruto wrapped around her waist in a hug. Hiruzen pulled out some papers from his desk and placed them in front of Anko.

"If you would, please sign here Anko." Naruto let Anko go so she could sign the papers. When she was done Hiruzen stamped the papers and filed them. "Congratulation; from this day on Naruto Uzumaki will be called Naruto Mita…"

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, but do you think I could just add Naruto's last name to mine instead?" Hiruzen looked at Anko and smile before he continued.

"From this day on Anko Mitarashi will be known as Anko Mitarashi-Uzumaki." Hana cheered for them while Kakashi, Tsume and Kurenai congratulated Anko. Naruto was the first speak up and pointed out something that Anko was meaning to ask.

"Ano…Ojii-san?" Hiruzen looked at Naruto and nodded for him to continue, "Where are we going to live? Kaa-san's home is a little too small for the both of us to live there for long." Everyone noticed that Naruto was already using 'kaa-san'. Anko also noticed that he knew that they were going to need a bigger house. Hiruzen stroked his beard in thought before he addressed Anko.

"Anko…." Anko looked at Hiruzen "…how would like to live in the Chunnin Exams Tower?" Everyone, except Naruto and Hana, were thrown off by this question. The Chunnin Exams Tower was in the middle of the Forest of Death so that meant that both she and Naruto had to go through the Forest of Death to get there. Kakashi was the first to say to something, but it wasn't what everyone expected.

"I thinks that a suitable place for them to live Hokage-sama. Naruto already goes there so he is familiar with the life that grows there; also the tower is a great place to train Naruto since no one will be there to distract him." Anko looked at Kakashi with a face that said 'Are you kidding me?' then thought about it for a second. 'Wait a minute…that place is secluded so no one will bother us there. Also it does have an arena to train Naruto. That place is perfect!' Anko looked up at Hiruzen.

"We'll take it." Kurenai looked at Anko like she lost her mind while Tsume realized what the benefits were to the new family. "Let me finish…we'll take on the account that Tsume and her daughter can visit, along with Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma coming by to train Naruto." Everyone looked at the Hokage, who just sighed and conceded.

"Alright Anko, I'll also send a medic-nin who I can trust with you two to live there so Naruto won't have to come to the hospital when he get injured." Nodding to those agreements Anko turned to leave before Naruto spoke up again.

"Ano…Ojii-san do you know what is wrong with my eyes?" At this Naruto added Chakra to his eyes and everyone became shocked at what happened to his eyes….

A/N: Cliffy well there you go another Chapter. Read and review also later in the story I might add a new person to Anko and Naruto's family so you'll see eventually. Also these are the ages of everyone here:

Anko's age: 15

Asuma's age: 22

Hana's age: 12

Hiruzen's (Third Hokage) age: 63

Kakashi's age: 20

Kurenai's age: 22

Naruto's age: 6

Tsume's age: 30


	7. The Dōjutsu and Anko's Wrath

A/N: Okay after everything I think the new person that will join Naruto and Anko's family will be Fū. She's hated in her own village like Naruto and Anko were, so she would fit into their family of 'hated outcast' perfectly, also she is a jinchuuriki like Naruto.

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks_

Chapter 7: The Dōjutsu and Anko's Wrath

Last time:

"_Ano…Ojii-san do you know what is wrong with my eyes?" At this Naruto added Chakra to his eyes and everyone became shocked at what happened to his eyes…_

Now:

- Hokage Tower (Hokage's room) -

In one of the few times Hiruzen was shocked beyond belief this was one of them. Looking at Naruto's eyes he saw that they had turned a lighter shade of blue on the inside and his pupils were split into three parts of a spiral that went from the center of his eye to the edges of his irises. While Hiruzen was looking thoroughly at Naruto's eyes Anko decided to step in.

"Naruto…what happened to your eyes?" Naruto just shrugged.

"It isn't hurting, but everything changes a little when I look around." Hana got curious at this.

"Like what?"

"Well anything that is looks far away comes a little closer and I can see things before they happen and don't have to worry about getting what it is. I can copy things but I still need to practice it to get it right." At this Kakashi, Tsume and Hiruzen had the same thought. 'Except for the increased sight, that sounds like the abilities of the Sharingan.'

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I don't know what is wrong with your eyes. This could be a new dōjutsu altogether." Everyone in the room looks at Hiruzen and Naruto, shock and uneasiness going throughout the room.

"What's a dōjutsu?" Everyone looks at Naruto before Anko and Kakashi explain what it is.

"Well gaki a dōjutsu is a type of a 'jutsu' that is connected to the eyes…"

"…this is something that only a clan or certain people have that others don't. One example is the Hyūga, who have the Byakugan and the Uchiha, who that have the Sharingan."

"One thing about a dōjutsu gaki; is that it can only be passed on to your kids. Many of the abilities that a dōjutsu has can only be used by the person that has it."

"This means that you have a special ability passed on from your parents. You will also pass this on to your kid eventually, but for now you're the only one that has it." Kakashi and Anko looked at Naruto who nodded in understanding and deactivated his eyes. Hiruzen also wanted to know anything else about this.

"Naruto what do you feel when you're eyes change? How do you think you were able to awaken this dōjutsu?"

"I actually feel like air…really light. I don't know how I got them except I got them today." Hiruzen nodded.

"Alright Naruto…everyone we've had enough excitement for one day. Go home and rest, I'll let the council know that Naruto has been adopted by my blessings. Anko I'll send some others over to pick up your things and move them to your new home so you'll have to wait. Also Anko I need to talk to you, so if you would stay behind that would be appreciated." Anko nodded and looked at Kurenai and Tsume who nodded and got the message. 'Take care of Naruto for me?' When everyone left Anko turned to Hiruzen.

"What did you need me to stay behind for Hokage-sama?"

"Please Anko, drop the -Sama; as for you staying here, well…what I'm going to tell you is an S-class secret that only a few are able to hear. It is about Naruto, so you mustn't tell him anything about this discussion until he reaches Chūnin or he gets older. Do I make myself clear? This will tear Naruto apart if he hears this now." Anko thought about this for a bit but she nodded.

"Hai…I won't… I won't tell him."Hiruzen took out his pip once again and lit it.

"Anko you are about to learn of Naruto's heritage, parents and families." Anko looked up and sat down. 'I know that I'm going need to sit with what's coming up.'

- Ichiraku Ramen -

Naruto was eating his 5th bowl of Ramen while Kurenai and Tsume were watching him with socked faces. 'Where does this boy put it all?' On the way Kakashi left saying that he had something important to do while Tsume told Hana to go back to the compound with Kuromaru and check on the pups that were born recently.

"Can I have another bowl Ayame-nee-chan?" The waitress, Ayame Ichiraku,

"Of course Naruto; Dad I need another bowl for Naruto." While the two kunoichi watching Naruto they both felt a killer intent sent right towards their direction. Looking around Tsume and Kurenai both nodded understanding and started to talk.

"You feel that?"

"Yea, but where is it coming from and who's it directed at?" At this a stranger with a cloak on but his hood down walked in and sat next to Naruto, who was completely oblivious.

"Hello sir how may I help you?"

"I'd like one bowl of miso and some tea please." He sounded gruff and pissed without even trying. Tsume and Kurenai both felt the killer intent increase and sensed it coming from the man sitting next to Naruto. Both of them got up started to leave; this however didn't go unnoticed by Naruto.

"Where are you going?" Kurenai turned around and smiled. She walked to Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Naruto we'll be back; we're just going to check something down the street okay?" Naruto nodded and went back to eating when Kurenai and Tsume went around the corner of the block to a magazine stand.

- Konoha streets [With Tsume and Kurenai] -

At the stand they watched the man sitting next to Naruto to see if he was going to do anything. Both of them suppressing their chakra in order to hide, waited at the man was finally served and Naruto getting another bowl. They saw the man take out a small vial of brown liquid and pour it into his bowl and tea before stirring it and being eating.

"What is he doing? And what was in the vial?" Kurenai was worried this guy was bad news.

"Don't know, just keep an eye out and make sure that Naruto is safe." Before they knew what was happening they were surrounded by 5 cloaked people that started to attack followed by Naruto screaming and the waitress of the ramen stand screaming his name.

- Konoha streets [With Naruto] -

Naruto didn't know what had happened except the fact that one minute he was happily eating his 10th bowl of ramen and the next minute he was being carried by man in a cloak and having Ayame yelling his name while he was screaming his head off. Soon he realized that he was being kidnapped again and started to struggle.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

"Knock it off brat." The man tightened his grip on Naruto's stomach and ran even faster. Naruto's response was just to try harder to break free and run.

"I said, 'Let. Me. Go!'" Naruto finally had enough and bit the man's hand; to which he dropped Naruto held his hand. "You fucking little…that hurt like hell. I'm going to enjoy killing you." Naruto stood frozen as the man pulled out a sword from under his cloak; this was the first that Naruto heard anyone actually say that they want to outright kill him.

"Leave me alone!" Fear took over and Naruto began to run away toward the Hokage tower. 'Hopefully kaa-san will help me.' Naruto didn't get far before he felt himself being slammed against the wall with a lot of force. Looking at who did it He saw that the man was holding him by his neck with his other hand bringing up the sword to his chest. Naruto closed his eye and waited for the sword, but felt his body being dropped on the floor instead. He got enough strength to look up and saw Anko holding the man's wrist with snakes coming out of her sleeve and biting the man on the arm. "Kaa-san…" was all Naruto could say before he passed out from exhaustion.

- Konoha streets [With Tsume and Kurenai] -

Both Tsume and Kurenai were tired but had enough strength to subdue their opponents and tie them up. Just as they were finishing up several ANBU appeared and took the 4 men and 1 woman away with one staying behind.

"Can ask what happened?" Tsume waved her hand to Kurenai to let her speak while she leaned against the wall. Kurenai wasn't any better because of the attacks that were aimed at her legs. 'Must have taken that hit to her side harder than I thought.'

"We were watching a child…"

"Did this child happen to be Naruto Uzumaki?" Kurenai stopped and Tsume immediately straightens ready to resist arrest. The ANBU captain sees this and raises a hand in the air. "Don't worry none one in the ANBU has anything against the child…we were ordered to protect him from time to time." At this, Kurenai lowers her guard as Tsume rests against the wall again, wincing in pain from her side.

"Well… as I was saying…"

- Konoha streets [With Anko and Naruto] -

Anko was beyond pissed. She ran out of the Hokage's office to find Naruto and barely got down the street before she heard screaming and Naruto's name being called out. Running to Ichiraku's Anko asked where Naruto was before she saw a vial of brown liquid on the counter and grabbed it as she ran off towards Naruto. On the way she saw that Tsume and Kurenai were fighting 5 other people and decided to alert the ANBU of what's happening. Luck was on her side when she spotted some walking down the street and ran by them shouting something that only the captain heard.

"Hey there's a fight going on around the corner 2 Leaf Kunoichi are fighting 5 unknown enemies." She saw them head towards the direction she pointed to before she turned the corner again saw Naruto being slammed against the wall by some man. Anko lost any hope of reasoning with anyone when she saw that; her rage quickly going pass the point of no return she charged the man as he brought a sword up to Naruto's chest. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Anko quickly grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it until he let go of Naruto. When he let go Anko let two snakes slither out of her sleeve and onto the man's arms before biting him.

"Kaa-san…" Anko looked at Naruto before he passed out. When the man dropped on to the floor holding his arm Anko picked up Naruto just as the ANBU captain appeared with Kurenai and Tsume.

"What happened?"

"This asshole tried to kill my son here." Under the mask the captain saw shocked, he knew Anko was only 15 so her adopting Naruto was big news. He quickly got over his shock before he turned to the man on the floor.

"And him?" He gestured to man.

"I let two snakes bite him." He looked at Anko before she cleared it with him. "Those snakes aren't poisonous; their venom acts as a paralysis to the nerves." nodding at this, he turned to the man again.

"You are under arrest for attempted kidnap and attempted murder." The man was still holding his arm before he spat out a reply.

"That demon doesn't deserve a family…it deserves death." At this Anko aimed her heel and immediately stomped on the man's most sensitive part of the body. This caused all male civilians to wince in pain and hold their own as the women looked at Anko with pride on her protecting her 'son'.

"You asshole; you deserve to be killed for this!" Kurenai placed a hand on Anko's shoulder while Tsume walked up.

"Let's go to the hospital to get checked up." Everyone nodded as the captain disappeared with the man. All the civilians that watched the entire thing knew that there was a lesson from this: Don't mess with Anko or her 'child' cause you're going to suffer Anko's wrath.

A/N: There done…the next chapter will explain Anko and Kurenai's discussions.


	8. Discussion of each other

A/N: This chapter explains Kurenai's and Anko's discussions earlier in the story.

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks_

- Konoha Hospital (Main Lobby) -

Anko and Kurenai were waiting Tsume and Naruto in the main lobby. Tsume had three broken ribs from a kick that was sent toward Kurenai before Tsume unknowingly jumped into it and was sent through a table full of fruit. Naruto was less serious but still unnerving as his spine had a lot of pressure put onto it from when he was slammed into the wall and dropped onto the floor. Right now Kurenai was sitting patiently while Anko was fidgeting in her seat.

"Will you stop Anko? Kumai said that Naruto is going to be alright."

"…I'm worrying about what the Hokage told me about Naruto." This spiked Kurenai's interest.

"What did he say about Naruto?" Anko stopped moving and looked at Kurenai. "Anko? Anko? Can you hear me? Anko…can you hear me?"

"Huh? Yea, yea, um…the Hokage told me all about Naruto's lineage and past. He also told me about what to expect and the…" Anko mumbled the last part of the sentence. Shaking her head Anko looked at her legs. 'I need to change all my clothes…I don't need a perverted son because of how I dress. Maybe Kakashi could help m…no.' Kurenai broke up her thoughts.

"What did you say?" Anko mumbled again. "What? Anko speak up." Anko mumbled a little louder this time. "Anko I'm serious…tell me what." Anko leaned in and whispered into Kurenai's ear.

"He told me of the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed in him." At this Kurenai paled and looked at Anko. She mouthed the words 'Are you sure?' and got a response of Anko nodding her head. Thinking about this Kurenai thought of what happened she heard that the Nine-tails was sealed into a child 6 years ago but she didn't know who. 'Now that do think about it Naruto was born on October 10th, treated badly by the villagers and has whisker…marks…I am such an idiot.' Anko looked at Kurenai as she started to repeatedly smack her head and mumbled "Idiot" to herself. When Kurenai was done she turned towards Anko, who saw the deep red handprint that was on her head.

"Are you sure about that?" Anko nodded her head again and took a deep breath to explain. 'This is going to take a while.'

_- Flashback: Hokage Tower (__Hokage's room__) -_

"…_Also Anko I need to talk to you, so if you would stay behind that would be appreciated."_ _Anko nodded and looked at Kurenai and Tsume who nodded and got the message. 'Take care of Naruto for me?' When everyone left Anko turned to Hiruzen._

"_What did you need me to stay behind for Hokage-sama?"_

"_Please Anko, drop the -Sama; as for you staying here, well…what I'm going to tell you is an S-class secret that only a few are able to hear. It is about Naruto, so you mustn't tell him anything about this discussion until he reaches __Chūnin or he gets older__. Do I make myself clear? This will tear Naruto apart if he hears this now." Anko thought about this for a bit but she nodded._

"_Hai…I won't… I won't tell him." Hiruzen took out his pip once again and lit it._

"_Anko you are about to learn of Naruto's heritage, past and parents." Anko looked up and sat down. Hiruzen shuffled some papers around and, after placing a strong privacy seal, pulled out a rather large sealing scroll that he unrolled and unsealed its contents. Looking at the Items Anko noticed that there were some strange tri-pronged Kunai along with some swords and other scrolls. "Anko I know that you were with Orochimaru when the Nine-Tails Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked the village, correct?" Anko nodded and looked at all the items thoroughly and saw that the Kunai had seals written on the handles of each one. "Anko these Items are of the __Yondaime Hokage and his wife." Anko quickly looked up at Hiruzen._

"_Are you sure?" Hiruzen nodded and picked up one of the Kunai and inspected it while talking._

"_Yes…I chose him myself. Did you know he was the reason that we won the Third Shinobi War?" Anko shook her head._

"_No…I heard that we won because someone named '__Yellow Flash of the Leaf' but I didn't know he was the forth.__" Hiruzen nodded again and placed the kunai on the table again. Anko continued with what she was saying, "They said that he was able to teleport over long distances and took out an entire platoon of Iwa Ninja eventually winning us the war." Again Hiruzen nodded._

"_The __Yondaime Hokage was a master of __Fūinjutsu and Ninjutsu and his wife, a master of Kenjutsu. Both were the pinnacle of ninja in their time and done so much for this village. Sadly they both died when Naruto was born. The __Yondaime Hokage had sacrificed his life to seal the Nine-Tails into Naruto after his wife gave birth.__" Anko started to add the facts together and looked up at Hiruzen._

"_You…you mean….you mean that…" Hiruzen nodded again and started to reseal everything that was on the table._

"_Yes Naruto's parents are the __Yondaime Hokage and his wife. Their names were Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. Minato was well respected and feared by many; especially those from Iwa. If you are wondering why Naruto has his mother's surname that is because Minato's enemies would likely come here to kill his son and release Kyuubi again. I've kept it a secret from everyone even the council so as to not start anything and over time even banned anyone from speaking of the Nine-Tails so that Naruto could live a normal life." When Hiruzen finished sealing and placed the scroll into a secret compartment and pulled out an envelope, which he handed to Anko. "Sadly, that plan backfired on me and Naruto became Isolated from the village. They see him as the Nine-Tail reborn and have since repeated multiple attacks on him. His birthdays are the saddest of his life because of the attacks the villagers start. That envelope you have is a letter that Minato and Kushina wrote earlier that fateful day; it explains everything." At this Anko opened the letter and read the contents._

_Dear __Reader,_

_We must express our thanks for you taking care of our child. We wanted nothing more than to be there for our son as he grew, but we had to do what we did to help protect the village. IT would be best to keep our identities away from the public right now. Our enemies are many, and we do not wish them to be a burden upon our child. Therefore, we ask you to keep our identities from our child until he is grown or has become a __Chūnin__. We have set aside all of our riches for Naruto when he is older; however, we have also set aside a quarter of our earnings for the one that was generous enough to take our child in. Think of this not as a bribe but as a thank you; please make sure our Naruto has a happy life._

_Thank you for our kind hearts,_

_The 4th Hokage: Minato Namikaze & Kushina Uzumaki_

_Anko looked up from the letter to see Hiruzen holding a check out to her. Looking at the amount Anko almost choked on her own spit: 466650.00 yen (1). Hiruzen placed a hand on Anko's shoulder and smiled._

"_Take care of him Anko." Anko nodded and ran out of the office to find Naruto and barely got down the street to hear him screaming among others._

-_Flashback End_-

Anko held out the check for Kurenai to see and smiled at the face she saw. Complete and utter shock.

"I know…I had the exact same reaction. Anyway what did you and Tsume talk about when Hana and I left to look for Naruto?" Kurenai recomposed herself and looked at Anko and took a deep breath like she did.

- _Flash back: Inuzuka Compound (Meeting Room)_ -

"_Of course…but I ask that Kurenai stay here to discuss some things with me." Anko looked at Kurenai and rubbed the back of her head in worry. Kurenai looked at Anko before shaking her head and placing a hand on her shoulder._

"_Alright I'll stay." Tsume grinned and turned to one of the servants and spoke._

_-10 minutes later-_

_Kurenai and Tsume were sitting at a table drinking tea when Tsume spoke._

"_Kurenai…" After she got the attention of the Kunoichi, "…What can you tell me about Anko?" Kurenai felt a knot in her stomach, Anko didn't like when other's talked about her when she isn't around. Kurenai took a breath and said things slowly._

"_Anko…isn't what others describe her as. She acts like she does because it get her attention from the villagers that hate her. She puts on the act to mask the sadness that she has." Tsume nodded at this and poured Kurenai another cup._

"_Do you know why she developed that kind of attitude?"_

"_No…just the fact that she wears it constantly to keep out the pain that she gets from being with Orochimaru." Tsume nodded again and was going to ask something else but Kurenai beat her to it. "Can I ask why the Inuzukas hate Anko? She was very resistant about coming here and asking for help. She said that you two also don't see eye-to-eye." Tsume nodded and brought out a folder that had multiple papers in it. When Kurenai looked at them she saw that they were reports of Orochimaru kidnapping and experimenting on some of the Inuzuka as well as observations on Anko._

"_I was told by many of my clan that Anko was just as fierce as Orochimaru so I didn't take any chance that she would start to kidnap and continue his work. Sad to say that I didn't get any facts right her and that my clan reacted out of fear. Still I was surprised that when I finally met her she was very grateful and kind a contrast to what I was told." _

"_You've never met her before?" Tsume shook her head._

"_No. I sent out an order that she never see me unless it is very important." Kurenai looked at Tsume and smiled which caused Tsume to raise an eyebrow. "What seems so funny?"_

"_Anko wanted to be recognized by a clan head…it's just you recognized her as a threat but still you recognized her. Others besides the __Hyūga but Anko always thought that they were just pretending out of pity." At this Tsume also smiled realizing that Anko had made an impression on her, so she was going to help her with her problems that she'll likely have._

"_Thank you Kurenai…for telling me about Anko so I can get a better view of the one that every Inuzuka seems to fear."_

"_You're welcome." At this Hana came through the doors._

"_Kaa-san, guess what?" Tsume shook her head in response causing Hana to pout before she smiled again. "Anko said that she was going to give Otouto a home!" Tsume was shocked._

"_Kiba?" Hana shook her head._

"_No Naruto." Tsume and Kurenai's jaws both hit the floor. Anko Mitarashi was adopting Naruto Uzumaki?_

"_Hana please wait outside with then other and tell them that we are coming with them." Hana nodded and ran out the room as Tsume looked and Kurenai. "Well it's safe to say that Anko is not like Orochimaru." Kurenai nodded and got up to meet the others outside._

-_Flashback End_-

Anko was smiling at the fact that she had Tsume as an ally for helping her with Naruto. These thoughts were broken when the doors opened and Tsume, with Naruto holding her hand, walked out. Anko immediately went to hug Naruto while Tsume let go of his hand.

"What's happening?" Tsume answered for them.

"Well I have three broken bones and Naruto's spine was almost broken but we'll live. We aren't going to be able to see any action anytime soon...Anko I'm sorry that my clan treated you badly. If you would let me make it up then I would like to invite you to stay at the Inuzuka Compound until you move to the Chūnin Exams Tower" Anko nodded and hugged Kurenai before she left for her house.

"Thank you Tsume-san..." Tsume smiled and started to walk home with Anko and Naruto in tow.

A/N: Hopefully I'll be able to explain Naruto's eyes some more in the next . (1) 1 U.S. Dollar is worth 93.33 Japanese Yen


	9. The Uzumaki Bloodline

A/N: This chapter has Naruto find someone to explain his eyes and his last name.

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks/Mindscape_

-Training Ground 7-

It's been 2 weeks since the incident that involved Naruto's kidnap and the entire Civilian Council learning that Anko had adopted him. In that time Anko found out more about Naruto like the fact that he's only shy around adults sometimes because of how he was treated; or that he is actually really fun to have around when he grows around you. Today Anko was walking to the Training Grounds with Naruto after they found him a new outfit so that he didn't stick out like a little hazard sign; still she was impressed that he pulled 15 pranks in the past 2 weeks and _never_ getting caught while wearing orange, even she couldn't find him and had to rely on Iruka for help. Iruka told her that the two of them met one day when Naruto ran pass Iruka from various Chūnin and Jōnin and he was able to hide from them and only he found him. He also told Anko that he was teaching Naruto the basics of chakra and basic skills that Academy Students use. Unfortunately, Naruto didn't have any chakra control, so with him doing anything usually led to it becoming trouble. Oddly Anko found that Naruto can do the Substitution Jutsu when he concentrated enough. 'I need to start teaching basic ninja skills; two years is a long time to wait to go to the Academy.'

When Anko and Naruto arrived at the training ground they found that it was being used by a woman that looked about a year older than Anko. She wore a mixture of prayer robes and skin tight clothing. There was a green kimono that ended mid-thigh, a black skin-tight top, mesh on her lower body the was just a little longer than her kimono, black shoulder pads with gold details in it, and green armguards that covered the top of her hands. Her hair was let down and parted to reveal two tomoe on her forehead. She was also wearing white legwarmers and sandals. She was a practicing with two swords that were tied to her right shoulder and lower back. Watching her was an elderly man, wearing what seemed like the robes of a monk, that sitting on the grass not far from where she was practicing.

"Can I help you?" Naruto and Anko jumped when the old man appeared next to them. They looked back and saw that he was also watching the woman train. 'It's a shadow clone.'

"Sorry we thought that this area was open for us to train." Anko spoke trying not to be as loud as the old man looked up at the sky and saw that it was almost mid-day and a little too early to start compared to traditional ninja.

"Training…now?" Anko nodded her head and led Naruto in front of her. The old man then understood why she was here. "I see…well I'm glad to another generation getting ready to become ninja. My name is Toki, and my young apprentice here is named Taki." At this Taki stopped her training and looked at duo before walking over to them and sheathing only one sword as she pointed the other at Anko.

"What's your business?" Her voice showed that she was definitely the authority type despite being that same height as Anko.

"Look like I was telling you're master here: 'we thought that this area was open for us to train' that all. We can leave if that's bothering you." Toki laughed at them, causing everyone to look at him before the clone dispelled by bursting into wind. The real one then invited them to sit and watch what Taki was doing before she continued to hack at the training dummy in front of her.

"Can I ask why you were looking to train one as young such as him?" Toki motioned to Naruto, who was so caught up in Taki's fighting style. Anko nodded and began to tell Toki that she recently adopted Naruto because of the hatred that he receives from the villagers constantly and that he needed to defend himself when she couldn't. She told him how they met, that she took Naruto's last name and that Naruto had a dōjutsu. "Dōjutsu you say?" Anko nodded and stated that they didn't know what it's capable of, or what it was for that matter. "Well…let me see it; I've seen many dōjutsu over the years so I may be able to identify it for you." Anko nodded and tapped Naruto on the shoulder causing him to look at her.

"Naruto…do you think that you can show Toki here your dōjutsu?" Naruto looked at Toki and nodded before he closed his eye and reopened them to reveal the change. Anko waved her hands like it was a prize; Taki saw this and decided to listen in on the conversation. "That's it right there. Do you know what it is?" Toki nodded and studied Naruto's eye a little more; making Naruto nervous that he was so close that he could see his wrinkles.

"Hai…this is rare…and I thought that they all died out…"Anko looked at Toki when she heard him mumble the last of what he said while Taki stopped when she heard what her master said. "You, young one, are part of an extinct clan; one that was thought to have died out in the last Shinobi was." Anko, Naruto, and Taki all became wide eyed at this and asked the same question.

"What!" Toki nodded and looked at Naruto's eyes again and leaned in closer.

"Tell me, what is your name?"

"It's Naruto….Naruto Uzumaki." At this Toki smiled and placed a hand on Naruto shoulder he told Taki to get his bag; when Taki left he looked to his audience.

"Uzumaki…the fabled clan of seals…thought to have died out long ago…now reborn in a new generation." Looking at Toki, Naruto and Anko thought that the man was going senile, while Taki, just returning, knew her master was remembering his past. "Yes a fabled clan that was so great that many feared and respected it. Young man, do you know of your family or its history?" Naruto shook his head. Toki nodded in understanding. "Where to begin…"

"Master…maybe it would be best to tell us about this clan. Then you can explain what happened to it." Toki looked at Taki before smiling and dug into his bag to pull out a large scroll and unrolled it.

"Very well…The Uzumaki clan; was a clan that hailed in the Uzushiogakure or the Village Hidden by Whirling Tide. They specialized in seals or Fūinjutsu along with creating many versions of Kenjutsu and fighting styles; I stayed in the village for 3 years learning everything I can from them, and learned many of their styles. I taught Taki her own style of fighting style is similar to theirs when she is fighting. The Uzumaki clan was also known for speaking in older languages and had respect for many who gain them. This might explain that Naruto was able to speak a little of the older languages. The main reason the Uzumaki clan was also renowned was for their dōjutsu that was created by the Sage of Six Paths himself." Anko and Taki both gasped and looked at Naruto, who still had no idea what the hell was happening. Anko wanted to make sure that this was true and was sure that Taki would to know too.

"Are you sure?" Toki nodded and pulled out a sealing scroll that had the words _Uzumaki clan teachings_ on it and was sealed with a swirl like stamp. Toki unsealed everything and laid out everything in front of the three as he spoke.

"Hai; the sage had only one true heir that kept every what he created. The Senju and the Uchiha may have been his most noticeable 'children', but his third child was an Uzumaki. Her name was Kio and she was blessed with the Sage's first successful attempt at creating chakra. The dōjutsu was called the 'Sējigan' or the Sage eyes; the Uzumaki had the power of all 5 basic elemental chakra and the ability to balance the yin and Yang chakra in their systems perfectly." Toki looked at Naruto and smiled before he continued to speak. "The Sage hoped that with his first dōjutsu that his daughter would become as notable as her 'brothers'. While the Senju and Uchiha were related to him by being 'adopted' so to say; The Uzumaki are direct descendants of the sage himself. The Senju and Uchiha had been named his direct descendants because their actions overshadowed Kio's own and left her to be named the adopted child. The Sējigan grants the user the ability of all 5 basic elemental chakra and the ability to control their Yin-Yang chakra easier than others. It was said, by the Uzumaki, that this dōjutsu is unlocked to those that are of the purest heart and have created a connection to another outside their clan." Anko was shocked to hear that Naruto gained his dōjutsu because of her. It did make sense, since she is out of his clan and she just took his last name; but the fact that she was the reason for it was something that she couldn't believe. Taki took this time to ask something to Toki while Anko was distracted and Naruto was…well, oddly sitting still looking around the area of the training Ground and ignoring everything else.

"Toki-sensei…do you think you can train these two? You know about Sējigan more than any of us and Naruto needs to know how to control his abilities. Anko said that he also needed to train to protect himself, so he could possibly learn the style of the Uzumaki clan when it comes to Kenjutsu. Anko could also learn how to handle a weapon and train beside me as well." Toki looked at Anko and Naruto; he studied them as Anko came out of her thoughts and Naruto fell on his back after trying to do a hand stand for some reason.

"Anko-san, Naruto-san, would you both like to learn the way of the Uzumaki?" Anko was a little baffled at the question, but accepted; while Naruto didn't need to think it over and agreed immediately.

"We're from Uzumaki clan…we need to know how they were before we can continue to keep the clan living, right?" Everyone laughed at Naruto as he struck up a fist in the air and proclaimed that, "I, Naruto Uzumaki will try my hardest to restore the Uzumaki name and never let anyone overshadow my actions." Anko smiled at him while Toki started to pull out more scrolls.

"Naruto-san…I believe that these belong to you? As an Uzumaki you need to learn about your clan's past and other abilities as well." Toki handed Naruto some scrolls. "Now let me tell you more about that dōjutsu that you have alright?" Naruto nodded and sat back down on Anko's lap, which caused Taki to raise an eyebrow at them and Anko explain to her really quickly.

"Okay you can start."

"Very well…The sējigan is a powerful that grants you Naruto-san, the ability to use the 5 basic elements chakra and yin-yang chakra. It was also said that the Sējigan is the base of all dōjutsu; be it from the Sharingan or the Byakugan, they all come from the Sējigan; that means that their abilities are used by you as well. The sights are acquired when you are faced with a problem that rides on your feelings until one becomes stronger than the rest. I see that you have already unlocked the first sight as well; the sight of winds. All sights have certain abilities to them that will permanently be shared among the rest of your sights. Tell me Naruto-san. When you activate the Sējigan…what do you feel?"

"I feel a lot lighter and also know what you're going to do next when you move and be able to do the exactly the same thing." Toki raised his eyebrow to this.

"Interesting…it seems that you've already unlocked one sight and are now unlocking another. As said before, you already have access to the other elements; you just need to control them. It seems that you unlocked the wind sights and are now unlocking the sight of fire."

"Excuse me Toki, but…what feelings control the Sējigan?"

"The feelings Anko-san…are Anger, Acceptance, Sorrow, Determination, Regret, and Serenity. Those that follow are Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, Lightning and Yin-Yang Chakra. Feeling that Naruto has already gained the power of the wind I think that he has gained acceptance from someone and has felt accepted; the other sight that he is gaining must be fire because the ability of predicting and copying movements. This is also the basis of the Sharingan. The wind's ability is to have one's concentration to increase and eliminate the use of hand signs and to have them react faster thus feeling a lot lighter. I also suspect that Naruto's natural elemental affinity is that of wind because he has seemed to have had mastered it already." Just as Toki finished his sentence there was a sound of an explosion coming from the Hokage Tower.

"Sensei…I think that it's time to stop for now." Everyone looked at Naruto as an ANBU appeared next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Forgive me interuption Anko, but Hokage-sama requested that your son come to his room immediately...also he wants you there also withing 15 minutes." With that both Naruto, still holding the scroll Toki gave him, and the ANBU left in a swirl of leaves." Anko started to stand up shaking her head, 'What did you do this time gaki...god I have my hands full...and I'm only 15! I know this is going to be hard...' Anko was knocked out of her thoughts by Toki when he spoke as Taki gathered everything they had.

"Anko-san do you mind if we go with you to meet the Hokage? I need to ask him for a place to stay since me and Taki will be here for the next 5 years." Anko looked at the duo before she nodded.

"I don't see that as a crime to come with me besides I was going to ask if you can go so you explain Naruto's eye to the Hokage." Anko started to walk away and was soon joined by Toki and Taki. No one knew that the events that were going to happen next would change both Anko's and Naruto's lives.

A/N: Sorry for the late update but I was taking a test to see if I could apply as a junior next year instead of a sophmore. Anyways...next time I introduce Fū and another to the family and have Fū join Naruto under adoption.


	10. Fū Uzumaki and Tsunade Senju Arrive

A/N: This chapter has Naruto find someone to explain his eyes and his last name.

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks/Mindscape_

- Hokage Tower (Hokage's Office) -

Up in the Hokage's office Hiruzen Sarutobi was not looking forward what will happen today…his reason? He received a letter from the new leader of Takigakure and a letter from one of his old students: Tsunade Senju. Looking over the letter that Tsunade sent him he frowned knowing what was coming because of it.

_Dear Sarutobi-sensei,_

_I was recently near the border of __Hi no Kuni when I heard a rumor that a __**blonde**__ child around__** Six years of age**__ with __**Whisker Marks**__ on his face was recently adopted here in Konoha by the famous __**'Snake Bitch' **__of Orochimaru. I know for a fact that Kushina and Minato both had a child and was informed that the family was killed in the attack of the Nine-tails; therefore I __**AM**__ coming back to Konoha to check on him and I __**WILL**__ not be turned away from the gates when I arrive within or by the end of a week._

_Sincerely,_

_Tsunade_

Hiruzen didn't like where this was going…Anko 'knew' who Tsunade was because of all the things that Orochimaru told her and the two Kunoichi did **not** get along on their first meeting with each other. Add the fact that this letter was sent approximately 1 week ago adds to this unhappy feeling. Hiruzen shook his head to get rid of the negatives for now, it's not that he hated Tsunade, but the fact that she loses her temper very easily will complicate things with the leader of Takigakure. Speaking of which Hiruzen put down the letter of Tsunade and picked up the letter that was sent to him 2 days after Naruto's adoption.

_Dear Hiruzen Sarutobi,_

_I was recently informed near the border of Hi no Kuni that your Jinchuuriki was recently adopted by someone in your village. I am sending this letter to inform you that I will arrive with in the village within two weeks that this letter is received. There is a war that is going to be started soon and I do not want our own Jinchuuriki to be used as a weapon; she is still young and recently lost her mother, our shaman, to the beast 6 years after she sealed it with said girl. Please I ask that you find one that will be willing to adopt her despite the fact that she has a beast sealed within her; I know that she is only the container, as are all Jinchuuriki, so I wish that the one that adopts her be able to look past the beast and raise her in the life of either a shinobi or a civilian. I do prefer the former before the latter._

_From Takigakure_

_The Takikage _

The Takikage was the leader of Takigakure, the Village Hidden by a Waterfall and was said to have been elected after his predecessor was assassinated. The Takikage was also said to be the son of his predecessor and was said to have a sister. Hiruzen sighed as he put the paper down and rubbed the temples of his head with two fingers. The situation was proving to have violence become inevitable with the factors that were popping up.

First off, Hiruzen didn't show any of these papers to Anko; the only person that he knew would take care of the girl that Takigakure was sending over and was the adoptive mother of Naruto.

Second, Tsunade most likely knew that Anko was taking care of Naruto so those two would argue over Naruto's well-being as soon as both of them entered the room.

Third, Hiruzen couldn't send out a letter to either Tsunade or the Takikage seeing as they both left for Konoha immediately after they sent them.

Finally, Naruto will likely have no idea what's going on and add more to the flames between everyone. Adding that the Entire Council would be meeting today to talk about the subject of Naruto's adoption will make this topic become a mountain of paperwork for him to work on. Taking another sigh Hiruzen heard a knock on his door, 'that must be Tsunade or it could be the Takikage.' he knew who it was but wished that it was the latter before the former.

"Come in." The door opened to reveal a young woman holding a pig walk in. She is a fair-skinned woman of average height and slender built with black eyes and hair. Her hair is straight and shoulder-length with bangs that cover her ears and frames her face. She was wearing a long blueish-black kimono with white trimmings, held closed by a white obi, and open-toed sandals with low heels. The pig she was carrying wore a red vest and had white pearl necklace.

"Sorry for the interruption Hokage-Sama…we sent a letter a week ago to explain why we're here." Hiruzen nodded while the young woman started to come through the door.

"Of course Shizune…I was informed of this and cleared my entire schedule for this meeting. But there is another that will come here that is just as important as both you and your master's meeting so I Wis…" He was cut off by someone that he wished wasn't here at the moment.

"Cut the crap Sensei. We know that _he's _here so just have some of your lackeys find him and bring him here for me to see." A woman that was a fairly tall with light-skin and brown eyes and straight, blonde hair entered the room. Her hair was two loose waist-length ponytails and shoulder-length bangs framing both sides of her face that had a violet rhombus mark on her forehead. She wore a grey, kimono-style blouse with no sleeves, held closed by a broad, dark bluish-grey obi that matches her pants. Her blouse is closed quite low, revealing her sizeable cleavage. She wore open-toed sandals with high heels and red polish on both her fingernails and toenails and had on soft pink lipstick. She also wore a necklace in clear view on her chest. "I'm not here to talk about what's been happening since I left; I want to Minato's son, _my_ godson."

"Very well Tsunade…we'll see if we can find him. It's not like his mother will hold anything against you for wanting to see him." At this Tsunade picked up a chair near the door and threw it toward the wall, causing it to break and creating an explosion-like sound echo throughout Konoha.

"I don't care about that traitor's former apprentice…I want to see Minato's son! You know just as well as I do that Kushina, his mother, called me his godmother! SO GO GET HIM!" Hiruzen sighed and snapped his fingers. As soon as he did an ANBU with purple hair appeared next to him.

"Get me Anko Mitarashi-Uzumaki and Naruto Uzumaki here now. I want Anko here within 15 minutes and Naruto here immediately." The ANBU bowed and left with in a swirl of leaves before Hiruzen turned to Tsunade. "Before Naruto gets here you must know that his mother is very protective of him and he will run to her if you show any means of harm to him." Tsunade didn't show any signs of faltering until Hiruzen spoke again. "Also Naruto will most likely be afraid of you seeing as though you caused a wall to appear in my office wall; he is also very easily frightened and will not return any kindness to you if you threaten his family in any way, no matter if you knew his parents. He was told that lie more than enough time in the past two weeks."

The effect it had on Tsunade immediately showed and caused her to falter in her anger before she calmed down. As she breathed in and out the ANBU returned; Naruto clinging to her arm for dear life with his eyes closed and a mess of scrolls around their feet. Tsunade looked at him and saw that he had three whisker marks on each of his face that when she mentally removed; he looked just like his father when he was that age. Taking a step forward Tsunade's mouth slowly opened and began to speak.

"Naruto…is that you?" Naruto opened his eyes to see a woman stare at him as though she had seen a ghost and a younger one, holding a pig, looking at him with a smile. Letting go the ANBU Naruto walked two steps toward the woman.

"Yes…" Before Naruto knew what happened he found himself within a hug. Looking around he found Hiruzen and the other lady smiling a little while the ANBU began to pick up the scrolls that he dropped when he entered and place them on the desk. 'Is this lady my mom? She probably isn't' Naruto was broken out of his thoughts be the sound of someone crying. Looking around he found that the lady holding him was the cause of the sound and was mumbling something about not being there for him. Naruto did the only thing that he could think of and started to hug her back as well as rubbing her back like a little child that needed to calm down.

"Naruto…" Naruto looked back at Hiruzen, "…This is your godmother: Tsunade Senju."

"She's my godmother?" Hiruzen nodded.

"She was someone that your parents trusted to look after you when they died…"

"Like the others that insulted me and kaa-san?" Tsunade visibly stiffened at this and Naruto felt it. "How do I know that she isn't like the rest?" Tsunade was starting to shake while the other woman took a step towards the two.

"Naruto…I assure you that Tsunade-sama isn't like those you've encountered. She hasn't been here in Konoha since you were born and only returned when she heard that you were alive." Tsunade let go of Naruto and began to stand back up, her eyes showed that the crying had a toll on her.

"Look…Naruto…I knew who your mother was because I used to train her when she was little. I...when you were born that morning she sent out a letter to me while…I was on a mission; it said that you were born and that she wanted me to look after you if she ever died…Then the Nine-Tails attacked that night and I was later informed that you and you parents died." Tsunade stopped and let out a few sobs before she began to continue, "I was so saddened that I didn't want to come back to this village because it took so much from of me. I'm sorry that I left you alone…I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you…I'm…I'm just sorry and I know that you might not forgive me. I'll make it up to you if you will let me…"

"It's okay…I think I know what you're trying to say. You didn't that I lived, so you left without checking…you didn't want to see if it was true and that you lost someone close to you." Tsunade started to cry again before Naruto went up to her and hugged her again. While Naruto was holding Tsunade, knocking on the door caused the other woman to jump and look at Hiruzen, who nodded, before opening the door. Who she saw was someone that she knew would cause some trouble.

"Hello…I didn't know that the Hokage had company; I'm here to get my son Naruto." At the doorway stood Anko; Toki and Taki were behind her as they looked at the woman in the door with a keen eye.

"Who's at the door?" Tsunade let go of Naruto and looked over to see Anko who had the some face of surprise and anger on her face. Hiruzen slowly shook his head and sighed as he rubbed his temples again. Glaring daggers at Tsunade, Anko slowly walked up to her and looked her straight in the eye. "I don't want any trouble…I just want to get _my_ son and leave." Looking around she saw that Naruto was behind Tsunade, "Hokage-sama is there any reason that Tsunade is here?"

"Yes Anko, there is a reason…"

"The reason being that I'm his godmother; the only one that knew his family. I'm the only one that knows how he could live for his own well-being!" Hiruzen sighed again and looked over towards Naruto, completely lost on who to side with, 'Argument over Naruto's Well-being: Check. Anko not getting the memo: Check. Naruto not understanding the situation: Check.'

"Does it really look like I care right now? All I care about is that I can get my son and learn more about his clan and their Dōjutsu." At this Tsunade, Shizune, and Hiruzen perked up when they heard Dōjutsu.

"Did you say Dōjutsu?" At this Toki took the time to intervene and stepped forward toward the Hiruzen while Taki went and stood by Anko.

"Yes…it seems that young Uzumaki-san was part of has unlocked the fabled Sējigan." The events, if not filled with tension, would have been laughable. Hiruzen started to choke on the smoke he had in his mouth while Tsunade looked like she was told that she had 1 week to live and the young woman dropped the pig on its head while Naruto held a chessy smile at the ANBU who somehow fell from leaning on the wall. "It wasn't very well known that the Uzumaki were direct descendants of the Sage of Six Paths. The clan alone inherited his favorite skill and slowly hid it from other countries such as Hi no Kuni. It might not be my problem, but I suggest that this continue when young Naruto is not in the area."

"I agree...can I ask who your name is?" Toki looked at Hiruzen and nodded.

"Yes my name is Toki: 'Weapon Sage of the East'." The events that happened when everyone heard that Naruto had the Sējigan repeated and another knock happened at the door. "It seems that you had other guests Hokage-sama?"

"Yes...This is the reason for Anko's summon. Enter." At this every one was surprised that the Takikage entered with a young girl that had orange clip in her short, spiky mint green hair that matched her eye color, which was also orange and was holding a strange doll that looked like a bug in armor. He stopped when he saw everyone looking at him and the girl. Hiruzen took this time to break the silence the enveloped the room. "Welcome to Konoha, Takikage. I trust that the young one that you have is the girl that you've mentioned in your letter?"

"Yes her name is Fū." Everyone looked at the girl as she looked at everyone around the room. She didn't see Naruto so she hid more behind the Takikage. "Now Fū...you know better from Kaa-san not to hide from others."

"But Kuno-nii-san...I don't know anyone here..." The Takikage, now identified as Kuno, placed a hand on Fū's head and crouched to her eye level and smiled. He looked around the room and saw the reason why Fū was afraid; there were seven older looking adults and only one other child besides her that was in the room. He smiled again and turned to everyone else.

"Excuse me, but would someone look after her outside while I discuss things with your Hokage?" Hiruzen nodded and looked at everyone while Tsunade got out of Anko's way. "I also suggest that the young boy accompany her so she is not alone."

"Shizune could you look after the two?" The young woman looked at Tsunade and nodded. "Also take Tonton with you will you and give him a walk." At this the woman nodded again. Meanwhile Toki looked at Taki and nodded in her direction before she went and grabbed Naruto's hand and walked out of the room. On the way Naruto grabbed Fū's hand and pulled her with him while Shizune walked after the three with the pig.

"Now that the kid are gone...can someone tell me what is going on? I swear when I agreed to adopt the gaki I didn't expect so many things to happen."

"Yea...I'd like to know what the hell is happening too sensei. A lot is happening that I don't what's what anymore."

"Well since you are so eager you two; this is what we're going to discuss, which I hoped that only Anko was going to be the one who knows what happened. The Takikage..." Kuno interrupted Hiruzen, seeing as though he wanted to break the news to the room. Toki simply sat down in a chair near the door, that Tsunade didn't throw, and listened.

"I'm here to see if someone from this village would be willing to adopt out Jinchuuriki who happens to be Fū. I heard that someone from Konoha had adopted the village's own Jinchuuriki, so I came by to see if they would be able to share the same courtesy that they showed the child they adopted." When the Kuno finished everyone looked at Anko, who some how had been able to slip next to the ANBU. "I assume that you are the one that adopted the boy?"

"Yes...that was me...but I did it because I saw what he went through and didn't want to see him live a life like that. No offense, but I don't know how the little girl lived so..."

"I assure you that whatever you've seen is the same in Takigakure. Fū is my sister and the daugter of the the late Takikage and village's shaman. As you have heard Hokage, that she was recently assassinated. She was the one that sealed the Seven-tails into Fū and protected her. There is a war that is going to happen soon and many in the village are willing to send Fū into the battle in hopes that she will be killed; with our mother killed, Fū will not have the protection that she needs to live peacefully in our village."

"Wait a minute...if you're going to be the next village's Kage...then you can keep protecting her can't you?" Kuno shook his head at Tsunade.

"It's not that easy...when my mother was alive I was able to look after Fū while she did her work; now...I'll have my hands full looking after the village that I wont have time to look after her." Kuno took this time to sit in a chair that the ANBU pulled up to him. "This is why I ask if you could take her in as you have the young boy." Everyone looked at Anko as she leaned against the wall mumbling to herself.

"On one hand, Naruto won't be that lonely when I'm on a mission. On the other, that means that I'll likely be more worn out if I have to look over the both of them." Kuno broke Anko's thoughts and made her decision when he said one thing.

"If you are wondering if Fū will be okay with the boy do not worry, she has been training to become a kunoichi and an academy level of skill to hold her own. She'll be able look after herself if she needs to." Anko didn't need to hear anymore and set her decision.

"Alright I'll take her..." Everyone looked at Anko confused. She looked at everyone with the same amount of confusion, "What? The girl has basic knowledge of being a shinobi...I was planning to teach Naruto over the next 2 years before he goes to the academy so she'll likely learn some things along the way. Besides no child should experience that kind of hatred because of something that they have no control over; with me atleast they'll only be picked on because they'll be labled as my kids. By the way; how old is Fū?"

"She recently turned six a month ago in the summer. Why do you ask?" Anko explained that she could possibly go with Naruto into the academy since the village, and a majority of the Elemental Nations, will likely learn that she's going to be apart of Konoha from now on as another Jichuuriki. "Thank you, you have no idea what that means to me that you would be willing to take Fū as your daughter. Also you will be please to know that our mother has happily sent everything from her account in Takigakure to Fū so she will have money to fund for her problems." At this Kuno pulled out a sealing scroll and handed it over to Anko with a smile. "The amount in there is just over half of Takigakure's entire fund." Anko and Tsunade face-fualted at the amount for different reasons; Anko because this was the second time that she received a large amount of money because she adopted a kid and Tsunade because that ment that Anko had a lot of gambling money that she could spare.

"Now that the issue is resolved, a bit more smoothly that I expected, I'd like to invite all of you and the children to the Council meeting that is taking place soon. Also I'll have the papers needed to make Fū your other sdopted child Anko." Kuno raised his hand at this and pulled out a document from his robes.

"No need Hokage...I have the papers rights here for a transfer of parentage and have already signed it." Kuno placed the letter in front of Hiruzen and pulled a pen close to the document. "If you would please ma'am..." Anko walked up to the desk and signed her name on the paper. "Hokage..." Hiruzen took the pen and signed his name as well as stamping the document with the hokage seal next to the one of the Takikage. When this was done Kuno made a copy and placed it back into his robes and turned to Anko. "Again I thank you for what you've done for both of us...I know that Fū will be in good hands with you. Shall we bring the kids back in?" Everyone nodded and the ANBU left to retrieve the four that left the room.

When everyone came back Naruto immediately went over to Anko with Taki while Shizune carried Fū to Kuno and stood by Tsunade. The room went quiet for a minute before anyone spoke.

"So you know why Fū was brought here to Konoha?" Fū instinctively shook her head no while Naruto shocked everyone with his answer.

"Because Kaa-san is going to take her and I'm going to have an imouto?" Everyone looked at Naruto while Fūfocused her sights on Anko then Kuno. 'How the gaki figured it out is something that I want to know.' Almost like reading Anko's mind Naruto spoke again. "I learned because it looks weird that a young girl would come into Ojii-san's office when there was a fight going on, also Ojii-san asked if she was someone from a letter, so I guess that she was really special; She also told me that her nii-san said that she was going to have a new home. Kaa-san is the only one that has a new home here because Ojii-san lives with someone else, I never seen those two ladies there before today, and Toki-sensei said that he traveled with Taki-san." Eveyone stared at Naruto like he just solved the answer for world peace.

Fū took this time to crawl out of Kuno's arms and walk over to Anko and tug on her skirt. Anko looked down at Fū and smiled as she kneeled down and placed Naruto next to her.

"Are you going to be my new mommy? You're going to take care of me?" Anko smiled again while Naruto climbed on her back and rested his head on top of hers.

"Yes...I'm the one that's going to look after you. You won't have to be afraid of anything while I'm around okay?" Fū nodded and turned to Kuno who walked up to the new family and kneeled next to her with his arms open. Fū jumped into his arms and let out some tears. Kuno slowly rubbed and patted her back trying to calm her down.

"Shh...it's okay Fū. You know that I would never put you in danger. This kind woman will take care of you while I take care of thing back home for Kaa-san." Kuno turned to Anko, "Can I know the name of Fū's new family members?" Anko nodded and placed a hand on Naruto's head and ruffled his hair.

"This here is Naruto Uzumaki...my name is Anko-Mitarashi-Uzumaki; and now we have Fū Uzumaki to join us." Just as Anko finshed another ANBU appeared in the room.

"Sorry for the interruption, but the council meeting is starting and the Hokage needs to be there." With that the ANBU disappeared. Hiruzen stood from his desk and cleared his throat.

"Now that this is settled...I'd like to invite everyone in this room to the meeting. It does concern Anko and Naruto only, but with what has happened here...well we're going to need to clear this up with the council andput this behind us now won't we?" Everyone nodded and left for the Council Chambers to deal with the problem, but Anko, Naruto, Fū and Kuno couldn't help but smile at the results and the faces the council will give at the news of Fū Uzumaki and Tsunade Senju's arrival.

A/N: There this chapter is longer than the others so it should be good for now...I'll try to go back and extend the others, but in the meantime...enjoy. Next time The Council's reaction to the new family.


	11. Meetings

A/N: This chapter has the Council get a run for their money and Anko gets surprising news about Naruto's future.

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks/Mindscape_

- Konoha Council Chambers -

Within the Council Chambers stood Anko, Naruto, Fū, Tsunade, Shizune, Toki, and Taki. Standing alongside Hiruzen, much to the council's surprise was the Takikage, Kuno. In front of the group were both the Civilian side and Shinobi side of the Council. Missing from the room were Tsunade and Shizune who were going to get rooms for the week before they headed out again.

The Civilian side consisted of everyday and retired Shinobi such as Danzō Shimura, a war hawk that was the leader of a special type of ANBU called ROOT and Mebuki Haruno, the Merchant Guild Councilman. Another Civilian Councilman, one that was respected between the two sides, was Mitsu Yoshano; a swordsman that connected the two sides of the council based on his experiences and the fact that he took care of the weapons that are handed out. The Civilian side of the Council discussed matters such from Prices of everyday food and supplies to the resources that are needed for a village project or construction.

The Shinobi side of the Council consisted of the Clan heads from the many that lived within the walls of Konohagakure. The main and most respected of the clan heads were the Hyūga and the Uchiha clan heads, Hiashi Hyūga and Fugaku Uchiha; both with Dōjutsu and pronounced force that tipped battles into Konoha's favor. The other known clans were the Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Nara, Akimichi and Aburame clan head that always supported one another in the meetings. The Shinobi side of the Council discussed matters such as were the ninja from their clans would be placed and how it will affect the battle or the missions that they received.

Clearing his throat to gather everyone's attention from the group of people that stood in front of them Hiruzen spoke out trying to get the 'urgent' matters out of the way.

"Now then…we're here to discuss…"

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, but what are those people doing in the Council Chambers? We requested that the _Uzumaki_ and Anko be here, but who is the young girl and the other two?" Hearing how the Councilman said Uzumaki with so much spite and hate made many from the Shinobi side, along with Anko, growl. "Also I many of us would like to know why the Takikage is here as well; it is known that he was recently elected, but what does that concern us?" Kuno took the time to walk in front of the Council and speak.

"I am here, dear Councilman, on the matter that Anko," waving a hand towards her direction, "has adopted my sister so that she is not used in the war that is likely to start because my predecessor's death at an unlikely time in her life." At this everyone looked at the girl that was behind Anko's leg and holding Naruto's hand; they noticed that she seemed scared of everyone except those two and didn't want to be left out in the open. Hiruzen looked around that room and realized that things needed to be cleared up so that the meeting can continue.

"Indeed, the young girl was often supported to be thrown into the war because of her past. The Takikage here has willingly let her transfer over to Anko's care along with Naruto so that she can be taken care of and taught how to become a kunoichi of Konoha at the Takikage's request." Everyone looked at the three with confusion, causing the Civilians, with the exception of Mitsu, to look at them with more hate. Mebuki took this time to ask one question.

"Excuse me, but what does _that_ woman have that will benefit the young girl. Surely a civilian in the village, one of us perhaps, could be more suitable to take care of her. The girl obviously shouldn't be pushed to war at a young age, and a shinobi knows very little of the lifestyle." Anko and Kuno narrowed their eyes at Mebuki and left off a killer intent at the meaning. _Let us take the girl, that bitch knows nothing about taking care of a child. _Kuno smiled at them before he motioned towards the trio with his hand.

"Unfortunately…Anko here is the only one that can take care of her seeing as her past connects to these two children. Especially, my sister seeing as she is the same as the boy in status, but not in strength." The result was one that Kuno wanted and the civilian council became half-paled and half-angered. Mitsu simply smiled at the thought of the underlying message that everyone saw except Naruto and Fū. _My sister is a Jinchuuriki. Anko was the only one that took care of yours so I can trust to take care of her. She knows how it is to be treated like trash from your own village._ "Anko maybe young, but she has the potential to train these two into great shinobi for the village. Fū here had already learned the basics of being a Kunoichi so she already has a responsibility on her side."

Danzō was interested in the conversation now, 'The potential to have two Jinchuuriki at the village's disposal...This may become interesting. I need to get one, if not both, into my ROOT.' Danzō knew that if he can somehow get atleast one of the two Jinchuuriki into his ROOT program, he could control Konoha and steer it in the 'right direction'…well that how it was in his mind. He knew that the civilians would likely stump both the two kids' training so he decided to have a go at getting them. Unfortunately he didn't notice that Hiruzen was watching him or the fact that Toki and Taki, along with Kurenai, Asuma, Anko, and Kakashi were assigned to train the two should they not be allowed to enter the academy at their age.

"Well in the case that someone, even a child, enters Konoha seeking citizenship; they must wait in the village and prove their loyalty for two years before they can attend any school or academy." Kuno and Anko smirked at everyone. 'Bingo…just like Anko said the civilians will likely have Fū wait before entering her into the academy.' Kuno smirked at the random councilman. Before he could suggest anything Danzō beat him to the punch.

"If you wish for the young girl to start her ninja training…I recommend that you send her over to my care. I have a special program to get her started on becoming a Kunoichi. She'll be able to reach great heights with her abilities." Danzō kept a calm face, seeing that Kuno had no choice but to agree with him if he wanted the girl to become a ninja. Hiruzen saw what Danzō was doing a decided to intervene to show that he already made a plan for the two kids.

"Unfortunately Danzō; I have already assigned Kurenai, Asuma, Kakashi, Anko, and those other two to teach both Naruto and Fū." Danzō scowled while everyone else looked at the two children then at Anko and the other two that were with her. "Would you please introduce yourselves?" Toki nodded and walked in front of the council and bowed, Taki followed suit and promptly bowed as well.

"My name is Toki 'Weapon Sage of the East' of the Fu-Ma clan and this is my apprentice, Taki of the Fu-Ma clan." The whole Council widened their eyes at the realization of who was in front of them. The Civilian side had little to no knowledge of the man except Mitsu and Danzō while the Shinobi side wanted to immediately bow to the man, seeing as he was a legend to everyone. "We'll be staying with Anko and her family over the course of five years before we leave. In that time I have agreed to pass on the knowledge that the Uzumaki clan had on Kenjutsu and Fūinjutsu. I will pass this knowledge to young Naruto, and be on my way." The council was now sucking between their teeth at what was in front of them. Mebuki, however, had one last thing to point out and see if could make the three fall from their position.

"Where will you be staying? As far as I'm concerned; Anko was recently evicted from her apartment and the two children aren't likely to have a home at a young age. This adds to the fact that there are no homes in Konoha that will have enough space for them. Training grounds are also limited to active shinobi so these…children will not be allowed to practice there." The Civilians smirked when they realized what Mebuki said. However Hiashi, having heard enough and grew tired of waiting for other matters, saw this as a challenge and a way to talk to Anko about a matter he had dropped when he learned that Minato died.

"If there is no place for the family to stay…I will open my doors for them to stay as well as a dojo for them to train."

"I second that motion and also extend my home to the new family. Should they ever need assistance the Uchiha will provide to them if needed." Every one of the civilians looked at Hiashi and Fugaku like both men had gone mad. Even more surprising, and more frustrating, was that the other clans had offered to let the Uzumaki family into their houses. Anko looked at all the supporters that followed and was surprised that so many were behind them.

"Thank you for your hospitality everyone, but it seems that Anko has taken residence with the Chūnin Exams Tower. Before you go on that they cannot live there Mebuki, the tower is shinobi property and therefore out of civilians' jurisdiction." Hiruzen pulled out the deed for the Tower and, using a jutsu to copy everything, sent out copies to everyone in the room. "I have already given her the copies to claim the tower as her home and as law stated on both civilians or shinobi states, 'One's property must not and will not be entered unless invited or part of Konoha's traditions that they let other in'. This also includes that if there is anyone that is caught spying within the Training Ground Forty-Four without papers declaring that it is training will be arrested on the account that it is violating laws." Hiruzen smiled at the faces the Civilian side gave. Kuno pulled out another paper and made copies of them before he handed it out to everyone. The civilians' eyes widened when they saw that it was Fū's adoption and transfer papers.

"Moreover, these papers indicate that if Fū is ever to be taken from Anko forcefully it is stated that they are to be sent to jail. As you can see this document has been stamped and signed not only by me but by your Hokage as well." Everyone looked at the bottom and confirmed that it was indeed signed and stamped by both the Takikage and Hokage. Seeing that the civilians were beat on the subject Hiruzen was about to dismiss everyone in the center of the room before Danzō spoke out again.

"Before you dismiss these people I'd like to ask one question." Turning to Toki, Danzō sized the man up seeing if he was the legend of Kenjutsu. "You said that you've learned from the Uzumaki clan correct?" Toki nodded, "Can you tell us what exactly what you've learned from them?" Again Toki nodded, while everyone waited. "Well?"

"You asked if I could tell you…to which I responded with a yes, but I am not being forced to nor will I spoil the name of the Uzumaki by telling their secrets to civilians that will not understand a small amount of the meanings" Danzō growled again while Mebuki yelled at them for an answer.

"If you wish to teach the Uzumaki you must tell us what we are to expect from his training. Keeping secrets from the council about such things is considered attempted overthrow of Konoha!" Hiruzen growled when he knew that the woman was correct. He wanted to keep Naruto and Fū's training secret from the council especially his dōjutsu. Toki knew what the council was trying to get out this…a way to spy on them to learn more for their own shinobi. Unfortunately for them, only an Uzumaki can properly learn the styles since they were connected to the Sējigan.

"If you must know, I will teach him the arts of Sealing, Kenjutsu, and how to master many of their other talents such as manipulation of elemental chakra." Everyone looked at Naruto and then Toki thinking if that was possible for a child to do; while Hiruzen thought of adding seals around the tower to keep it safe. As if he read everyone else's minds Toki responded. "Yes children even younger than him were taught how to do this and mastered the ability when they reached the age of twelve. I will also place seals around the tower that will stop anyone from learning those techniques for their own gain; The Uzumaki name will not be wasted on such low-skill civilians and ninja." The clan heads nodded knowing that the things Naruto and Fū are only meant for them and not their clans. The civilians, again without Mitsu, were fuming. With that the group began to leave until Hiashi spoke out to the group with one final message that caught everyone's attention.

"Anko…I request that I talk to you on a matter that pertains to Naruto. If you would: can you come to the Hyūga Compound within three hours?" Anko gave a confused a look, along with everyone else except Fugaku, at Hiashi and nodded. "Also bring you children; I'm sure that my own daughter would like to meet them." Anko nodded again before she left with the others for the final time, and let the rest of the meeting continue.

- Hyūga Compound (Hiashi's Office) -

After a 3 hour wait we see Anko, who was currently sitting in front of Hiashi Hyūga, wondering what the clan head had in mind for a discussion and why was Fugaku Uchiha there. Naruto and Fū went with Hiashi's daughter Hinata to her room and get to know each other. Deciding to start the conversation Hiashi spoke while Fugaku kept smiling further confusing Anko.

"I trust that you are wondering why I invited you here Anko. It's not every day that a clan head invites you to their compound." Anko scoffed in her mind, 'apparently you've never seen Tsume-san recently.'

"Of course Hyūga-sama…" Hiashi held up his hand to stop Anko.

"Please…drop the formalities. I can see that you are pushing yourself to say such things." Anko nodded and sighed in relief. "Now the reason I have invited you here is to discuss the matter of Naruto and my daughter Hinata Hyūga." Anko gave a confused look at Hiashi before Fugaku started to chuckle. Anko gave him a look before she focused back on Hiashi.

"I don't understand…" Anko was interrupted by Hiashi.

"It is to my knowledge that on the day that you've met Naruto…he saved my daughter from some genin that were taking advantage of her weak stature." Fugaku chuckled again, "It seems that she holds him in high regards when it comes to his cleverness and his bravery. As I have been looking through my person files I came across something that I thought would be of interest for the both of us." Hiashi laid out a paper that Anko starred at, but didn't realize what it was. It was at this time, that she poured some hot tea into a large cup, which she started to drink, that Hiashi dropped the news on her. "What I'm saying and what this document is stating is that your son, Naruto Uzumaki, and my daughter, Hinata Hyūga, are betrothed to each other…"

Anko's eye immediately widened as she gulped down the rest of the hot tea in her cup and dropped it on the floor causing it to create break; while she wanted to spit it out, Hiashi was sitting across from her, so she decided to take the pain, keep her mouth shut and swallow the molten liquid. While Fugaku was laughing his ass off, Hiashi looked at Anko with surprise; he expected to have her spit the tea all over him.

While Anko waited for the pain to subside, she looked at both clan heads with watering eyes and watched as Hiashi pulled out some money from his wallet and hand it over to Fugaku as he got up and walked over to Anko. It was evident that the boiling hot tea was doing a number on Anko's throat so Fugaku revealed why he was there, doing some hand signs he placed a hand on the back of Anko's neck and watched as she calm down and the searing heat in her throat cooled.

The Uchiha were masters of Fire style based attacks, so it was natural that they create a jutsu to cool their mouths from the heat of doing so many. This became a tradition to teach all kids the jutsu so they don't hurt themselves when doing things like the famous 'Fire style: Great Fireball Jutsu' that was used and favored by many of the Uchiha.

"Calm down Anko and think about this while you're waiting for Fugaku-san to finish." Anko nodded and picked up the paper that was in front of her and looked over it seeing that it was signed by Hiashi and Naruto's Father. The stamp on the bottom of the paper also helped point out that it wasn't a fake or a hoax.

The pain in Anko's throat left and made her body feel numb. In the 3 minutes it took for Fugaku to cool the pain away Anko looked over the engagement paper and saw what the stipulations were and the agreements that agreed on from both Hiashi and Minato. Reading out the arrangements Anko was a little relieved that she could still talk.

"First: Hinata must not be branded with the 'Cage Bird Seal'."

"Second: Naruto must treat Hinata with respect and as an equal."

"Third: Hinata shall not be dishonored from the Hyūga Clan and shall pass on the title of being the Hyūga Clan Head."

"Fourth: The Namikaze will fund ONLY Hinata's family should it be needed."

"Fifth: The Hyūga will not harm any of the two betrothed or any children that will come from the family."

"As you can see that was what was agreed upon when it was signed. Seeing that Naruto is now _your_ son…I think that this needs to be revised into terms that we can both agree on." Anko nodded her head at Hiashi.

"Before that…tell me how this arrangement was made."

"Very well…it was made a week before Naruto was born…"

_- Flashback: Hokage Tower (Hokage Office) -_

_Hiashi and his wife Himikoto __Hyūga__, now 7 months pregnant, entered the Hokage office where Minato and Kushina were. Looking at the __Hyūga clan head Minato motioned for both of them to take a seat. Kushina leaned against the desk next to Minato._

"_Hiashi…I got word that you wanted to speak to me about your family?"_

"_Hai…We've got word that you two will have a son soon is that correct?" Minato nodded and rested a hand on Kushina's. "It seems that we are going to have a daughter 2 months."_

"_Congratulations."_

"_Thank you…I was in discussion with the __Hyūga elders about her status as clan head and have agreed that she'll likely fit into another family…" Minato and Kushina both had a face of shock when they heard what Haishi said. Himikoto took this time to explain what they meant do to with their daughter._

"…_What we wanted is to see if you could arrange a marriage between your son and our daughter. The Hyūga elders think that her marriage to your son will help her in life…but we know that they just want to use her to get a part of the Namikaze and Uzumaki fortune." Minato and Kushina relaxed a little but were still tense at the news; it was no secret to the village that the Hyūga elders hated Minato, even more now that he became Hokage instead of Hiashi._

_The man was better suited at doing the job, and adding in the main fact that Hiashi didn't want to become the Hokage. That simply meant that he couldn't spend as much time with his family as he wanted. Hiashi had nothing against the man so he was grateful that Minato to the position. Though Minato and Hiashi had fights and arguments in the past there was never any bad blood between them and they usually made sure that everything was cleared up on an argument. That was the excuse when the Hyūga elders decided that they would make Hiashi the clan head._

"_I see…and you still want to arrange this marriage why?"_

"_This marriage will not be controlled by those bags of bone. We want to arrange the marriage to make them think about that we are following their 'guidance' but we want to change the arrangements that they have set up." Pulling out a scroll, Hiashi laid it on the desk for Minato and Kushina to see as both of them read out the arrangements from the scroll._

"_First: Hiashi's daughter will be branded with the 'Cage Bird Seal'."_

"_Second: Hiashi's daughter can be treated as harshly as needed from her groom."_

"_Third: Hiashi's daughter will not be dishonored from the clan, but will be placed within the Branch House resigning as the Hyūga Clan Head."_

"_Fourth: The Namikaze and Uzumaki will fund the entire Hyūga clan when it is needed."_

"_Fifth: If the two are proven a threat against the Hyūga, Namikaze and Uzumaki Clans; then the Main Branch can eliminate or seize the family"_

_Minato looked up from the scroll with disgust…Kushina and Himikoto followed with even more disgust and a killer intent at what they just read. Minato saw both wives in the room were seething with hatred; Kushina was evident with the Nine-Tail's power starting to show. Minato placed a hand on his wife's shoulder and looked at Hiashi as he did the same to his wife._

"_Surely you don't approve of this Hiashi…especially when your __**own**__ daughter's life is going to be changed." Hiashi shook his head._

"_Indeed…this is truly a disgrace to the Hyūga Clan. That is why I am here…to discuss the arrangements of the marriage before it can be brought up by the elders. I don't like that my family is being used to gain more power." Minato nodded and pulled out a paper and laid it over the scroll._

"_Now we need to agree on everything. Nothing will be written if we don't see eye-to-eye on the situation. Once I sign this document Hiashi…you need to take it and hide it away so no one can see it except you and Himikoto. Agreed?"_

"_Agreed. If you must know we plan to name out daughter 'Hinata'."_

"_Place in the sun…That's nice…Our son is going to be named after a character after __Jiraiya-Sensei. His name will be Naruto.__"_

"_Maelstrom…I'm sure that he'll have Kushina's attitude when he grows up." This incited laughter between the two men as Minato started to work on the new arrangements for the marriage._

_- Flashback end -_

Anko looked over the paper again before she placed it back on the table. Fugaku returned to his place next to Hiashi and finished drinking his tea. Hiashi simply looked at the paper as Anko placed in on the table again.

"You said that you wanted to change some of the arrangements?" Hiashi nodded, "Well let's see what can be changed." Anko smirked as Hiashi took out a pen and gave to Anko so she could change it to what she wanted. Looking over the paper Hiashi raised an eyebrow at the changes before he nodded and began to read what Anko wrote.

"First, Hinata and any child that she bears will not have the 'Cage Bird Seal' placed on them."

"Second, both clans must respect and honor the each other including the two betrothed and their families."

"Third, Hinata will not be dishonored from the Hyūga Clan and if unavoidable, will be placed within the Uzumaki clan along with her children."

"Fourth, the Hyūga, Namikaze, and Uzumaki will fund each other fairly between the families and will be used when in desperate need."

"Fifth, should harm come from either clan; those responsible will be imprisoned and, if necessary, executed."

"Sixth, should Hinata want to take the mantel of Hyūga Clan Head; the decision shall be hers only and cannot be influenced by anyone."

Fugaku slightly choked on his tea when he heard the last arrangement. Hiashi looked at Anko again and smiled, something that was rare for anyone to see, seeing at what she was doing to ensure protection for the both of them. 'For a 15 year old girl to do…that is very clever.'

"There…I think we can both agree on that." Hiashi nodded and took out a blank copy of the paper before he wrote everything Anko did and singed the bottom. Anko took back the pen and signed her name on the bottom as well.

"We should wait for this to be stamped by the Hokage…surprise them when the teams need to be chosen from the academy." Anko caught a glint of evil in Hiashi's eye and smirked at his intentions. Seeing as the sun was setting, Anko left the compound taking Naruto and Fū with her back to the Chūnin Exams Tower.

A/N: Another chapter…man this took longer than usual to write. Next time a 2 year skip and what happens over that time. Also see if you can spot the little reference to Soul Caliber in there besides Taki and Toki.


	12. 2 years time

A/N: 2 years…in a few words

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks/Mindscape_

"Jutsu"

- Chūnin Exams Tower -

Located in the center of training ground number 44 and within the Chūnin Exams Tower we find a blond boy with piercing blue eyes, a mint green haired girl bright orange eyes, and, a violet haired woman with coffee brown eyes. They were resting in the sides of a fighting ring with and elderly man and a woman watching over them.

These three people were known as the Uzumaki family. Naruto Uzumaki, Fū Uzumaki, and Anko Mitarashi-Uzumaki were currently sparring in one of the many training room that were in the Chūnin Exams Tower. Over the past two years the three have changed from what they were when they met; in other words Anko got to know the two Jinchūriki more vise-versa.

Naruto was now dressed up in an orange long-sleeve shirt covered by a blue sleeveless hoodie and black shortcuts each with a spiral crest on them along with a fox-based ANBU mask resting on top of his head. Staying with Anko caused Naruto to tone down on the pranks and his other habits over the past 2 years, but he did pick up on more of Anko's side of being bold, easygoing and, if possible, became more hyperactive as she kept trying to get him to stop. One thing that Anko couldn't kick was his addiction to ramen which, after she talked to Hiruzen and Kakashi, found out that he inherited from Kushina's own addiction to the noodles.

Fū was dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt that had a spiral resting on her sleeves and black pants with wrappings around her arms from her hands to her elbow and around her feet while sporting an overcoat that a container resting on her right shoulder and, like Naruto, had a bug-based ANBU mask resting on top of her head. Fū, for the first 6 months, had some issue on being left alone; even being in a room by alone was something that she didn't like. She was often seen holding on to Naruto whenever he was nearby and constantly kept track of him. She started to let off on the nerve, but picked up Anko's behavior of being stubborn, short-tempered, and playful in the process that Anko used to help her ease up and become relaxed.

Anko was still dressed in a tan overcoat, completed with a fitted mesh body suit that stretches from her neck down to her thighs, a flak jacket and a dark orange mini-skirt,. Anko's only change was the most noticeable out of all three since she pretty much turned her attitude around when she's in the presence of her kids. While she still didn't like or listen to any civilian that threatened her; she became more responsive and respectful of her superiors. Anko also showed a lot of love to Naruto and Fū, that it caught the eye of many clan heads and shinobi that saw them. Her loyalty to the village was watched by many, earning her a position in the T&I department when she constantly issued her own form of interrogation to anyone that wronged her or her family or the village.

Beside the change in everyone's attitude, their skills had improved as well. Kurenai was there to teach the two vessels things such as controlling their chakra. Fū and Naruto had a hard time since they had a massive chakra reserve; Naruto's being bigger and having never trained on this sort of thing was basically like a clean slate. Both of them learn how to walk up trees and on water through 'trial and error' as Anko put it. Naruto constantly fell from trees when he started and was often going to Kumai to make sure that he never got a concussion. Fū constantly fell into the water and off tress when she was learning how to control her chakra but still was a bit better than Naruto since she was trained on the very basics.

Asuma's job was to teach both of them what was taught within the academy along with other things. Fū was a natural when it came to learning from the books and keeping her mind focused; Naruto…was the exact opposite and couldn't sit still for 5 minutes before he was off running around. After Toki found out that the problem with Naruto, being that he hardly had attention when he was younger and often 'worked' to gain it, was that he was used to his life of movement. This was simply solved when they found that Naruto learned by making things more complicated; in other words he needed to balance other training routines with Asuma explaining the lessons to him. This led Naruto to learn 4 years of knowledge in a year and a half making Asuma teach him more advance lessons civilians used more than shinobi.

Anko and Kakashi worked together and often switched on teaching fighting styles and how to use basic weapons properly to knowing your surroundings and how to work with things in nature. Anko often took the two, Kumai and Taki out of the tower and showed them things in the forest that can be used for many things. Everyone learned how to make solvents from plants and how to things like anti-venom so that it could be used later, Fū and Kumai becoming very well trained in that area. Kakashi kept to his word and slowly showed Naruto the way his father fought along with other styles that seemed to fit his hyperactive ways. Both Fū and Naruto became precise with their aim when it came to using kunai and learned how to counter as well as do many different holds to catch an opponent off guard.

Toki and Taki taught the two Jinchūriki how to handle weapons that weren't kunai and such. Toki often took Naruto to another room from Fū to teach him about the Sējigan and other techniques that were used with it. Taki was tasked to teach Fū how to use weapons like Toki was doing with Naruto; Fū was hesitant at first when they took her 'nii-san' to another room, but eventually grew close to Taki seeing her as her 'oba-san' or aunt. As the two kids learned the various forms of kenjutsu, they eventually started to spar with one another and learned how to counter one style with another. Naruto started to learn how to 'tag' objects with seals that he formed in his hand and watch the effects.

Toki also went into depth of what can be done with the Sējigan and explained that Naruto can create limitless amounts of jutsu. This lured Naruto to mix what he learned into his pranks and often created a lot of seals and tags that he wrote down and the effects. Some of the most noticeable tags and seals that he made were the 'Explosion Tag: Nova' that when detonated, caused a bright light to appear and engulf an amount of land within a 'miniature sun' leaving nothing left or entirely cooked and the 'Quick Switch Seal' that allowed one to, as the name implies, quickly switch with whatever the seal was placed on. Naruto also gained his second sights to the Sējigan, when a group of drunken Chūnin surrounded him and Fū and threaten to kill them.

_- Flashback: Konoha (Market District) -_

_2 months after __Fū became part of Uzumaki family and the entire council let out that the village had 'another demon';__ Naruto and __Fū were walking through the busiest part of the Market District looking at the things that were being sold. Many of the civilians didn't allow the two near their stands or shops, but those that were shinobi, retired or not, happily let them look at what was being sold. Many of the elderly generations had faith in the __Yondaime's seal, while those that weren't like clan heads or witnessed the __Kyūbi__ attack treated __Fū the same as Naruto._

_Fū was holding Naruto's arm and looking at a container that looked like it slung over her shoulder (A/N: The container that she's wearing now) while__ Naruto was looking at a necklace and some ANBU masks that looked like the real thing.__ Fū was so focused on the container that she didn't the group of __Chūnin that were walking behind her. When she felt her grip on Naruto's arm loosen;__ Fū looked at the reason why and saw the group dragging her__ away__. In a quick sense of fear Naruto started to call her name when he noticed that she was gone._

"_Hey kid…if you're looking for that girl, she was taken by a group of shinobi that way." Naruto looked down the road to where the lady was pointing and ran off after he thanked her, with a few __yen__ that he had. It was 5 minutes after Naruto left that Anko was seen running right by that the same area and started asking around for the two._

_When Naruto found where Fū was; he got mad at what he saw from the roof he was on. Fū was now sitting in the center of a circle, created by the __Chūnin, crying and bleeding with a broken bottle near her. The boys of the group were smiling at seeing her crying while the woman just sneered at her. One of them then walked up to her and swiftly sent a kick to her side._

_"Let's just kill her…one less problem to deal with! We just go after the other one later!" Many of them nodded to the idea, but one of them, that Naruto guessed was the leader, stepped forward and threw the woman back into the crowd_

"_NO! We can use her for ransom from that bitch Anko. We all know that she's loaded with money since this little taint used to be the sister of the Takikage!" Many of them had money signs in their eyes when that was said, but the same woman that spoke out earlier came back._

"_Screw that. Let's just take her somewhere and leave her there." The way that these people slurred their voice showed that they were drunk to the core. __Fū knew it when she saw Anko get like that one time and knew to stay out her way. Anko never hit her or Naruto, but she did give it up last month when she lost control in front of them. While everyone was arguing, no one noticed that Naruto was sneaking around them with some fireworks in one of his hands and 2 matches in his other hand._

"_Fuck it let's just beat her and leave her here." At this everyone agreed and pulled out a one kunai for each of their hands._

"_If she's anything like the demon brat…then she'll be fine tomorrow." At this everyone in the circle smiled and began to walk towards Fū. At this moment Naruto threw the fireworks right at the closest person to her. The object reached its mark and hit her square in the face knocking her out. When the fireworks exploded Naruto did what he did with Hinata and ran to grab Fū from out of the circle while everyone was distracted._

_Unfortunately, He forgot that those people were Konoha shinobi; the person that saw the firework coming immediately grabbed it and sent it flying away with a kunai. When everyone turned to where Fū was they only saw the ground and some blood._

"_Over there!" everyone turned and saw Naruto running away from them with Fū on his back. The chase was immediately on and Naruto knew that it was going to end badly…either for him, Fū or even both of them. As Naruto ran away from the Market District he noticed that it was beginning to rain. It wasn't until Fū yelled at him to stop that he noticed that he was in the exact same place as he was when he met Anko._

"_Oh…shit." At this the thunder clapped and censored out what he said so that Fū didn't hear him. Naruto turned around just in time to see a kunai flying at him and cut him in the arm, causing him to drop his sister on the floor. When Fū tried to back up the female leader appeared behind them and made a grab for her neck, and sent a kick to Naruto's stomach. When Naruto hit the ground he looked up and saw the woman smirk and sober up immediately._

"_Give it up demon…you won't be able to save her anyway…much less yourself." Naruto watched as the woman casually threw Fū into a Dumpster and watched it close, before two others sat on the lid to keep it shut. When he heard every one of the shinobi start to laugh when banging was heard, he lost it and let out a loud yell as he let his anger take over what he was doing. The lady that threw Fū stopped laughing and looked at Naruto only to notice that his eyes were now different._

"_LEAVE US ALONE!" Naruto's pupil started to change and now formed as four tomoe, surrounding his pupil, start to spread out as his irises became lightly tinted red (A/N: Not crimson like __Kyūbi's eyes__). Naruto didn't know why or how he knew, but he did three hand seals before he put both of his hands together and set them out like a gun. "__Fire style: Blazing Gun Jutsu"__ When Naruto said this the tips of his fingers immediately ignited and a large fire ball shot forward as a fast speed. Immediately after he did the jutsu he saw that the lady was going to jump so he leaped in the air before she could._

"_SHIT! __Fire style: Great Fireball Jutsu!__" The lady she sent her own fireball and jumped out of the way just in time only to meet Naruto in the air as he brought his fist down to her face and sent he crashing to the ground. Just as Naruto touched the floor three more __Chūnin rushed forward, intent on beating him down if not outright killing him with the kunai in their hands. Naruto activated his __Sējigan again and instantly saw what was the three were going to do. Following what he knew would happen and that their movements were impaired with their drinking, Naruto dodged all the attacks sent his way and made few more hand signs as he crossed his arms. _

"_Wind Style: Blue Wind Storm!__" Naruto uncrossed his arms in a scissor like motion as a small blue tornado formed and sucked two of the three inside and sent them flying into trash cans. The last one charged head on with his Sharingan activated but didn't land a single blow as Naruto release another fireball and sent the last one toward the two on top of the dumpster._

_The others that were watching the whole fight started to run away as Naruto knocked the last person into the other two. Before anyone could get to the end of the alley though; Anko appeared with an ANBU that had purple hair like she did except it was longer that hers. Looking at the various __Chūnin that had wide eyes, they knew what happened in the alley. Anko and the ANBU looked at each other before they both nodded and more ANBU appeared behind the group._

_- Flashback End -_

Needless to say when Naruto explained everything that happened, including the fact that he didn't know how he knew those two Jutsu, and after he got Fū out of the dumpster the ANBU that was with Anko decided to give them both masks that were shaped into what they connected with; Fū even got to buy that container that she saw before she was taken. Out of all the Chūnin that were in that group, only the three that attacked Naruto and the two that were on the dumpster were actually punished. The punishment, being that they were interrogated by Anko herself and when they left the T & I department…none of them wanted to talk about what happened. These acts led Anko to getting a position in that department, earning some extra pay when she wasn't on a mission, and get some recognition from one of the coldest people in Konoha: Ibiki Morino.

When Toki learned that Naruto opened his second sight, he got right to work on teaching him how to master the Sējigan. Kurenai also picked up in Naruto's training on chakra control so that he can keep up with everything else that he was being taught. Taki had also begun to teach him her own fighting style seeing as he absorbed information on physical training like a sponge. This led to Naruto growing in skill by leaps and bounds as he trained in both wind style and fire style techniques. Naruto also learned, by complete accident, that he can merge two elements together and gain another in the process; in his case he learned to fuse wind and fire to gain a sub-element that he and Toki deemed as 'Scorching Heat' or in everyone else's case 'Scorch Style'.

Even after just one year, Naruto kept on track with everything. What Toki learned in that time was that Naruto was truly gifted since he was able unlock two sights in just a few months; a feat that even an experienced Uzumaki couldn't do without serious events throughout their lives. He also learned that Naruto prospered when he was train in Lightning, Fire, and Wind style techniques. Seeing as Naruto mastered using a Tonfa (1) in both of his hands, a wind style form of kenjutsu, using samurai stances (2) and hidden swords stances (3), fire style forms of kenjutsu, and even learning and helping to perfect Taki's own style (4) that was a lightning style form of kenjutsu.

Fū also grew but not as much as Naruto did, seeing as everyone took their time to stay with her and actually go into depth about things while Naruto only needed to get the simple form of the explanation from anyone. She thanks to her own Tail-Beast that resided within her she was able to follow Naruto in the Wind Style forms of kenjutsu and mater the Tonfa like her older brother. Fū also was able to pick up on more of the medical side of things since she stayed with either Anko or Kumai for most of the day she wasn't learning from the others. Anko wanted to make sure that at least one of her kids was smart enough to bring things to heal themselves; she really was just waiting for Tsunade to return back to Konoha so she can teach one of them.

Anko also brushed up on her skills with Toki and learned about the arts of a hidden sword that Naruto was learning since it was a Fire style based form. Toki was actually impressed that both ladies were able to almost master their form of kenjutsu despite the fact that they didn't have the Sējigan. Anko also learned on how more about treating people differently and, thanks to numerous scare attempts on Naruto and mostly Fū, learned just what can help the side that everyone in Konoha knew.

- Chūnin Exams Tower {10 minutes later} -

"Alright you two that's enough for now." Anko landed on her feet and was soon followed by Naruto and Fū. "We need to get some rest now that Naruto is going to start going to the academy soon."

"Hai Kaa-san…" Naruto and Fū saluted and started to walk to their rooms leaving Anko in the room by herself. Instead of going to bed like the two Jinchūriki, Anko went to the top of the tower to find a group of people waiting for her. On the top of the tower were Kurenai, Asuma, Kakashi, Toki, Taki, Hiashi, and Fugaku all sitting around a small table with playing card in their hands with…sake?

"Ah…Anko *hic*…how nice of you *hic*…to join us *hic* on this lovely night…" Kakashi looked at her with an eye-smile and waved his hand for her to join. Anko knew they were all drinking, but she decided to play along with everyone.

"You all know that the kids are going to sleep right? Or the fact that it's almost midnight?" Anko walked over and sat down next to Taki, who quickly leaned on her. "Uhh…Taki are you okay?"

"Yea…I'm *hic* perfectly fine…just a little dizzy." Anko shook her head as Taki went to sleep on her and looked at everyone else. 'Hmm…Toki looks sober…as well as Hiashi, so I could probably get some conversation going.' Taking a quick look at Kurenai and Asuma, Anko turned red as she saw them ferociously having a make-out session right in front of everyone. '…And I call her responsible? Geez sis you're just as bad as I am.'

- Chūnin Exams Tower [With Naruto] -

Naruto didn't go immediately to bed, instead decided to pull out one of the few things that calms him down…a flute that belonged to the Yondaime himself. One secret that Naruto kept to himself and to his family is that when it came to music…he was a natural at playing any instrument that found its way into his hands. The flute itself was yellow that had red flames around the mouth piece and around the holes of the flute. Naruto kept this with him almost all the time, except when he was taking a shower. Naruto walked over to the window in his room and opened it up only to have someone jump in as he did.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

- Outside the Chūnin Exams Tower {2 minutes earlier} -

Itachi Uchiha, prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, was heading to the Chūnin Exams Tower, where he was told that his father was. Itachi knew that the tower was rigged with seals that were security reasons, so he opted to try and find an open window to climb through. Just as this thought crossed his mind he looked up and saw someone opening a window above him; taking the opportunity, Itachi quickly climbed up the side and jumped into the window. As he did he saw that it was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki look at him with confusion and fear in his eyes.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Itachi quickly covered his ears as Naruto yelled at him point blank in the face. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS? WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU JUST KNOCK ON THE FRONT DOOR!?" Before Naruto could yell at him again, Itachi quickly placed a hand over his mouth.

"Sorry Naruto-kun. I wasn't aware that you'd be awake. I was looking for my father and heard that he was here." Itachi noticed that Naruto had a flute in his hands and raised a questionable eye-brow. Naruto grabbed Itachi's hand and ripped it off his face before he half yelled/whispered.

"Still you could've knocked…and no I don't know if your dad is here and yes I can play the flute. I was about to play it before you jumped into my room!" Itachi raised his hand again before he apologized again.

"Naruto…do you think I can ask you a question?" Naruto blinked at him and shrugged his shoulders, but the next question was one that Naruto didn't expect. "I you had to kill you family…would you do it?" Naruto was thrown back by the question but quickly got to thinking about what Itachi just said. After about 5 minutes Naruto answered with his head lowered.

"If my family was bigger…it would still be hard to do. I would only do it if I knew that they would start something that will cause a lot of problems for everyone else. If I did I would at least spare my kaa-san and my imouto…No one should live alone and both of them would be broken if I was reason; still they would need each other and comfort one another when I'm gone. Hating someone for something they had to do for everyone else is not what someone should live for… is it?" Itachi looked at Naruto with wide eyes at his answer, before he activated his Sharingan and had it change. Itachi knew what to do, but first he had to take care of Naruto.

"Thank you for your answer Naruto-kun…now will you look into my eye?" Naruto looked up and was instantly met with red eyes. "Tsukuyomi…" Naruto soon lost focus and fell into Itachi's arms before he laid him in on his bed and left the tower to head home.

_- Tsukuyomi World-_

"_Where…am I?" Naruto looked around and saw that he was tied to a cross. Looking around some more he noticed that the Moon looked blood red and there was a fog near the floor. He snapped his head up when he heard someone walking on water and found Itachi walking toward him. "Itachi…what the heck is going on?" Itachi kept walking and stopped when he was standing in front of Naruto. "Hey can you hear me? Where are we?" Itachi reached for his tanto in his back and pulled it out. Before Naruto could blink Itachi cut the ropes that held him and let him fall to the floor, which turned out to be water._

"_Naruto…This world is called the __Tsukuyomi World. It is an illusion world…only used by the Uchiha Clan after they gained and matured the Sharingan into something more powerful." Itachi placed his tanto back into the sheathe it was in as he crouched to Naruto's eye level. "The level is called the __Mangekyō Sharingan…and is what an Uchiha deems as ultimate power for us. I brought you here so I can train you a little before I leave Konoha. We'll be staying her for a month." At this the world immediately changed into a forest as Itachi threw some kunai and hit several targets. Naruto was amazed and only had one question before he grabbed a set._

"_When do we start?"_

-Real World-

Anko was carrying everyone to a spare room with the help of Hiashi and Toki. As they passed Naruto's room Anko felt a draft and looked to find the window open and he was crashed out on his bed. Shaking her head, Anko went inside and closed the window before she went back out and joined the two outside to talk. One thought came through her mind, 'Naruto…you always have the power to change anyone's mind."

A/N: Another chapter done. Sorry for the wait but I've been having issues to with my internet recently. This might go slowly but I'll upload whenever I get the chance. Also there will be a lot of Soul Caliber References in this story because I love that series. Next time the Uchiha Massacre will commence.

(1) Talim's fighting Style (Tonfas)

(2) Mitsurugi's fighting Style (Samurai Sword)

(3) Setsuka's fighting style (Hiddden Sword)

(4) Taki's fighting style (Dual Blades)

Look them up and see their styles and stances.


	13. Uchiha Massacre

A/N: This chapter has the famed Massacre happen.

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks/Mindscape_

"Jutsu/Technique"

- Forest of Death {Nighttime} -

Itachi was racing through the trees of Training Ground 44. On the way he thought of what Naruto had said to him before he cast that Genjutsu on him; he realized that Naruto was right…No one deserves to live alone buried in hatred. Itachi knew that he needed to complete his assignment for the village, but also knew that he couldn't live when he knew that he mentally scarred the one that he cherished the most out of his entire life.

Racing through the forest Itachi knew what he had to do and how he could accomplish it. Itachi smiled because he knew that when Naruto woke up in the morning…everything that he did in the Tsukuyomi world will look like a dream. In reality Itachi taught him almost everything he knew and learned in the academy, 'Everyone will be surprised in Naruto-kun's abilities when he trains.'

Itachi raced back to his house to prepare; not only for the mission that he would be going to, but also for what needed to be done.

- Chūnin Exams Tower {Morning} -

"NII-SAN WAKE UP! WE NEED TO GET READY TO TRAIN!" Fū was little agitated…the reason being that Naruto usually woke before her around 6 AM in the morning; now at 9 AM she was banging on his door to get his to wake up. She knocked before, but now she was mad that he was keeping her waiting. The worst part is that their mom usually went to wake her up with some snakes if she overslept, but the one time, _one time_, that her brother sleeps in is the same time that their mother decides to try and cook breakfast for everyone and sends her up to wake him. Fū continued her banging until she heard someone groan on the other side of the door.

Naruto woke to the sound of his little sister banging on his door to wake him up. Naruto cursed himself when he told her not to run into his room without knocking; unfortunately… Fū took that as 'Don't just rush in here…atleast _bang_ on my door first.' Naruto was sure that was what went through her mind putting emphasis on banging on his door. Luckily for Fū, Taki walked by and said that she should leave and go eat breakfast while she tried to wake her brother. Fū was joyed and took the opportunity to leave as soon as she got the chance…just as Naruto opened the door when Taki knocked.

Just as Naruto did he was met with a fist to the face when Taki tried to wake him up. Just as the fist connected to his head, instinct took over and he immediately grabbed her wrist and threw her over his shoulder. Taki was for the most part was now fully awake when she hit the floor. Looking up she saw Naruto looking down at her with a sheepish smile on his face and a hand rubbing the back of his head. Everything registered in the Kunoichi's head as she looked up at Naruto and received a gulp in response.

"Naruto…what was that for?" Taki started to get and turned to see Naruto slowly back away from her and to his bathroom. He put up his hands in a defensive wave and started to sweat anime drops as he backed away. 'Did…did I do that?' Naruto quickly snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Taki again. Outside the room, one Anko Mitarashi-Uzumaki was walking to her son's open bedroom door before she stopped and heard three distinct *Thunks* coming from the room.

"Sorry…it was kind of an instinct. I had a weird dream last night and thought of it when I felt your hand hitting my head when it came down." Naruto quickly ducked as Taki sent three kunai aimed towards his head and impaled the door behind him. Taki was getting up, but stopped and tensed when she heard someone yelling; Naruto wasn't doing any better since he knew that he caused this.

"HEY! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THROWING THINGS OUTSIDE OF THE TRAINING ROOM?" Taki sweat-dropped and rubbed the back of her head, in true Naruto fashion, when Anko looked through the door. Despite being a year older than the purple haired Kunoichi…Taki was in fact afraid of the woman that was standing in the doorway. "Well?" Taki walked up to Naruto and pulled out the three kunai that she tossed while Naruto went to get his clothes and take a shower. Taki sighed and looked towards Naruto…only to see the door to his bathroom closing and the sound of a shower starting, further inciting another sweat-drop from Taki along with her sighing.

"You said to not throw anything around. I know. I know." Taki only raised her hands in defeat and looked down…part in shame of being scared of Anko and part of being scolded like a child from her; the entire time feeling embarrassed of what was happening. Anko took that answer and nodded her head, before she turned around and started to walk away.

"Good. Now you think you can help me cook? I swear after two years of eating from a six year-old you think I would've gotten it down by now." Taki nodded and followed Anko out of the room, but not before swearing to get Naruto back for what he did. "Naruto, you better hurry up, you've got to practice today!" Anko nodded again and continued to walk away when she heard him yell back.

- Chūnin Exams Tower (Kitchen) -

When Naruto went into the kitchen; he wasn't surprised to find a lot of things either burning or destroyed. Looking around he knew that his mom was cooking somewhere in the black smoke that was starting. Naruto sighed as he used a wind jutsu to gently push the smoke out of the way so he could see.

As the smoke cleared, he used all his might to suppress the urge to let all of his laughter out. In front of the stove stood Anko and Taki, both covered in oil, flower, eggs, and pancake mix. Neither of them decided to speak or look at each other. Both did nod before they moved out of the way to let Naruto cook when he jerked his thumb to the stairs so they could get clean.

Surprising everyone, Naruto started and finished cooking in 10 minutes and brought the food to everyone in the kitchen including: Fugaku Uchiha, Hiashi Hyūga, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Anko, Taki, Toki, and Fū. After everyone ate, all the adults except Asuma and Toki, left for the day.

- Chūnin Exams Tower (Training Room) -

About 3 hours later we find the two Jinchūriki facing off each other with Asuma Sarutobi sitting on the side lines reading out of a textbook in his hands. Anko left to go to her job at the T & I department so he was technically in charge until she, Taki, or Kurenai got back from wherever they were. Both of them were listening but only one was answering the questions that were being asked. He took his time answering, because it was his least favorite lesson: Historic Battles and Figures. The main reason for his hatred was that he never thought that it would help him in any situation, except to pass the academy.

"Next question Naruto: Who was the one that was defeated at the Valley of the End by the Shodai Hokage?" Naruto barely dodged a swing from the pair dull bladed tonfa that Fū was wielding. Naruto knew that she was a wind element when Toki explained the elemental styles of each kenjutsu style that he practiced. Sending a quick jab in her direction with the dulled dual blades from Taki's style of fighting,he answered as quickly as he could.

"Madara Uchiha. Whoa!" Naruto ducked as an arm reached for him. Asuma nodded and looked back into his book as Toki and Taki both entered the room to see how the two siblings were doing. Both nodded at how the two manipulated the weapons and made them both apart of their bodies as they were both taught. Taki also took note of how Naruto had modified her technique to be more surprising and how it can be used with and jutsu to catch opponents off guard and incorporated the use of her blades more than her hands. She was taken out her thoughts when she heard Asuma yell at the duo, more specifically, Naruto.

"Next question: Who succeeded the Shodai Hokage?" Naruto sent a kick to Fū's direction and kicked off of it to gain distance between the two while he caught his breath. Fū knew that she would never actually attack her brother, but it helped to keep him on his toes. Naruto panted to catch his breath before he spoke up to Asuma.

"The Nidaime *pant* Hokage, Tobirama *pant* Senju…The Shodai Hokage's *pant* brother." Naruto ran forth and quickly did a handstand while he was moving in a rotation and let his legs swing out. Taki noted that it could be used to catch others off guard seeing as Fū aimed low to block and ended up getting kicked in the face twice and was sent flying. Naruto watched and saw that his sister was dizzy, so he decided to try out his new technique. I mean she _did_ empty Naruto's favorite wallet, Gama-chan, of all his money to hire that man to fix her necklace; that to him, needed justice.

"Alright…here's another one: Name one technique or summon that each of the Hokage had." Naruto growled…he wanted to end this practiced as soon as he could. Now, he had to answer another question and hold off his technique, but he actually had time to focus on gathering the need energy for it. Naruto did the one thing that always surprised everyone; he sat down and began to think. Taki knew why he was doing this, to collect some energy and pull of something big.

"The First Hokage had the ability to control wood…and created a way to suppress demon chakra with it. The Second Hokage controlled water…but created the technique 'Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation'. The Third Hokage, Ojii-san, is able to summon monkeys to help him battle and the Fourth…the Fourth was able to summon toads and created the 'Flying thunder God technique' or as others liked to call it the 'Hiraishin'." Naruto opened his eyes and got back up with both blades in his hand. "Scorch style: Heated Aura."(1) Everyone looked as Naruto was wrapped with a purple orb with a red glow. Asuma shook his head and looked back to his book for the final question he could ask Naruto.

"Correct…Okay final question: The Senju clan was allied with what other clan and what did they give an offering?" Everyone watched as Naruto put the two dulled blades away and run towards his sister. Fū, having recovered from her dizziness, watched her older brother with a keen eye and waited until he was within striking distance before she threw both of her weapons at him in a rotating motion. She was shocked that he jumped over her attack and didn't expect what she would receive when he did.

"Get ready!" As soon as he was within striking distance Naruto jumped and delivered two kicks to Fū's chest before he jumped back and formed a tiger hand seal. "Wind Style: Quick Flicker" Everyone watched as Naruto 'split' into three that were constantly flickering. All three spread out and surrounded Fū before they withdrew their blades and raced forward attacking at once and making Fū spin before they all jumped up and 'became' one again and landed a solid kick the back of Fū's skull (2). "Uzumaki Arts: Vanquishing Kick." Needless to say, Fū was down for the count and Naruto was pretty drained as well, but before the boy collapsed he looked at Asuma and smiled.

"The first answer is the Uzumaki clan and the second one…is the spiral that's found on your vest and in the symbol on your headband." At this the boy passed out on the floor with his weapons falling out of his hands. The two shinobi there were a little surprised at a little fact that the jutsu he used took so much out of him, except Toki; Naruto went from being predictable and unbalanced to completely balanced and unpredictable overnight. Taki smiled at the two kids that, over the past two years, she saw as a niece and nephew.

"We should probably take them to their rooms rights?" Everyone looked at Asuma and shrugged their shoulders before they went to pick up the two and took them to their rooms to be examined by Kumai for anything. "Does anyone know what kind of jutsu they used in their fight?" Toki nodded while Taki shook her head. They would later learn that both had powered their weapons and bodies with chakra without knowing it to not only heal themselves subconsciously, but to also deal out more damage to their opponents.

Kurenai had also come back to further Naruto's chakra control with a more advance way to control it and heard what had happened. The end result was a scolding from all the adults and the rest of the day waiting for the chakra exhaustion to wear off while they were confined to their rooms; Naruto having his flute and his drawing equipment was easier to cope than Fū, who had nothing to occupy her mind but her books.

-Uchiha District {Nighttime} -

Itachi stood staring at the moon on his way back to his "home" from an A-ranked mission that he had taken earlier that day to pass the time. He had been told to go home and sleep seeing as she completed the mission quickly in one day. But the meeting that he was called to shook him up and caused him to shed a tear before he squashed that feeling.

_- Flashback (Hokage's Office) -_

**_Itachi reported to the Hokage's office for his weekly report on his findings of the Uchiha clan. He took of his weasel mask and surveyed the people in the room. There was a total of four people in the office at the moment which were Danzō Shimura, the elders Koharu Utante and Homura Mitokado along with their old squad teammate and Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. _**

**_As he gave his report he warned the Hokage that his father, Fugaku, and the rest of the Uchiha clan were becoming restless and were planning to start the coup de tat the next day. He told them how his father confided in him that the ideal time to attack was the day after because many people would be relaxing from the trade that happened. As well as that the security would be more relax since many of the ninja would be resting since they would be the ones over watching the trades (to make sure that no fights and the like started) meaning they wouldn't be at their one hundred percent. Fugaku may have taken great pride on how the Uchiha were known as the strongest clan in the village, but he wasn't foolish enough to think they would be able to defeat all the able bodied ninja that got in there way if they were well rested._**

**_As he relayed his findings he noticed the different reactions crossing the faces of the inhabitants of the room. When he completed the report all of them were locked in their own thoughts after the information he had just presented. They all knew diplomacy wouldn't work because that plan failed even after trying to subtly get the clans favor without making it known that they knew of their intentions. All that was left was to resort to violence but no one mentioned it. So after a moment or two the Hokage decided it would be best for them all to head home and think things over and left in a Shunshin leaving only him and the elders and Danzo. As the silence went on Danzo broke the silence and asked him if the village was more important than his clan which he answered with a quick yes saying that he loved it more than anything else. Which led to Danzo ask him another question that would decide his fate. He asked if he would do anything to make sure the village lived on and flourish._**

**_He just answered Danzo with a slow and subtle nod._**

_- Flashback End -_

A lot of villagers respected the Uchiha clan. He didn't…he chose not to worship anyone from that clan; he couldn't stand the clan that he was born and raised in. His hatred for his father ran in him and ran even more when he heard of his plan. The man staging an attack on the village he lived in, the same man who couldn't stand childhood innocence and forced many to live differently.

Years ago his father used to shun a family member named Obito…because he believed in friendship. Itachi had always wanted to meet his relative, but his father never allowed it. It was too late now; Obito had died during the Third Shinobi War before Sasuke had been born. His father often ignored Sasuke on a daily basis, choosing him, one son over the other. As Itachi stared at the moon, he wondered who he'd side with if there was a war between his clan and the village. He remembered what he spoken to Naruto about just one day earlier, and smiled before he frowned at what he was going to do.

The only people in his clan he cared about were his brother Sasuke and his mother Mikoto Uchiha. She had cared about him and had tried to give him a childhood whenever she could. But she would never go against her husband, she was afraid for Itachi. She had been for years when she found that he rocketed through the shinobi ranks of Konoha. Then she had Sasuke, Itachi knew that he should've been jealous, but instead he was actually happy for his mother. Now she'd have an innocent child to love, unlike him. Itachi had promised himself he'd keep Sasuke from becoming like him. He promised to give Sasuke love, something that he was denied by his father. Itachi made up his mind and stood up from where he was stationed.

Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha were sitting in the living room while their sons were off doing what they usually did. That's when they heard the screams coming from the street. Fugaku and Mikoto immediately got up and ran to the front door, only to see the bloodshed that littered the streets. Itachi would forever have their screams in his mind. By the time he finished, it would still be awhile until midnight so he just continued on. He walked into his home alone and looked at the two that he still didn't kill.

"Father…Mother." Itachi looked at his father as he stood in front of his mother.

"Itachi what is the meaning of this!?" Fugaku yelled when he saw the son that he, just earlier, had praised for his raise in the Konoha Shinobi Ranks.

"Father…I knew that you couldn't take the village…the way we were shunned for what had happened 8 years ago. Now I see that you were planning to overthrow the Hokage! To throw away the lives that both Sasuke and I have lived! You deserve nothing but death for what you've done, but I can't see myself ending your life…not until you see what you have done to us." Itachi used Mangekyō Sharingan on him to make him see what he did to his children, to make him feel their pain. Mikoto stared, afraid of what her son would do to her. Itachi just simply looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry."

Her surprise was obvious. She grabbed a sword that had always been displayed in the room. She looked him in the eyes and said she's the one who needs to apologize to him. Itachi could only watch as she tried to finish herself off with the sword. Before she could even move her arms she felt a force holding her back. Looking up both Itachi and Fugaku were holding her arms and looking at her; one with the Sharingan activated, and the other with the Mangekyō Sharingan active. None of them moved none of them breathed, but everyone saw what Itachi had in his eye: sadness and betrayal mixed with the pattern that resided in his eye.

"Why?" That was the one question that ran throughout the house. Fugaku looked at his son, both of pride and of sadness. He knew what he had done to his sons now, the pain that he had caused them. "Why didn't you tell anyone? Why did slaughter our entire clan?" He stood in the room with both his parents and looked into both of their eyes. It was a Friday, Sasuke's training day so he knew that he had time to wait and explain everything to his parents in that room.

Instead he went outside to wait for Sasuke to arrive and he wouldn't make it back until midnight or later. Both of his parents followed him to the front door, intent on learning the reason for Itachi's massacre. One thing that they had heard was the sound of someone crying, the one that caused everything to happen: Itachi.

"They say war never changes…overthrowing the Hokage made sure that it would ensue and more people could have died that what I've done here. Monsters never change their tactics, but men and women do, through the paths they take. And my path…has taken a wrong turn and I used the same tactic to end their lives like I did with enemies on my missions. Sasuke's could've been worse…but someone told me that no one…NO ONE should live with hatred. My actions are tainted, but everyone else's can atleast become pure again." Fugaku instantly knew why Itachi killed everyone…to protect Sasuke; the one that gave a meaning for him to strive forward. Protecting Sasuke meant that he had to protect his family…from everything that threatened them to live a life of pain.

When Itachi heard the scream, he knew Sasuke was here. He watched as Sasuke entered the house, into the room where their parents were. He watched as Sasuke collapsed to the ground next to his parents and cried into their arms. Itachi entered, guilt increasing when Sasuke asked him what kind of monster would do this before he saw the blood. The blood Itachi was soaked in; the blood of their clan members. Itachi had no choice and used the Mangekyō Sharingan on Sasuke and his parents to make him see what Itachi wanted him to. A false image of what happened as he watched Sasuke scream in agony. This was one thing Itachi couldn't help him with and Itachi hated it. The person that was so protective of Sasuke was the one that would change him.

Everything besides that fact was a blur to Itachi as he left. All he remembered after that was that he had been crying and Sasuke had followed him and he had told Sasuke to hate him and to hold that pain inside and fed it so that he can kill him. Sasuke lost consciousness and Itachi watched as his parents looked at him. Fugaku left, only to return with the blade that Mikoto tried to end her life with earlier and hand it over to Itachi.

"Itachi…Now I know that I've realized that I failed in raising both you and Sasuke. I ask that take this sword, and remember everything that you have been taught. You'll always be my son, no matter what you've done." Mikoto came back from putting Sasuke in their bed and had rosary beads on her hand. As she walked up to Itachi she smiled and let her tears go when she placed the beads in his hand. "Itachi…these items belonged to Obito; I pray then you'll never have to use them. Good-bye…son"

"Please take care of him…he deserves more than just surviving on hatred for what I had done. Mother…Father…please know that even if you dishonor me…I'll still love you for what you've done for me. Make Sasuke realize that hatred is something that shouldn't be held." As Itachi was leaving he looked at his surroundings of the Hidden Leaf Village for the last time. In his pockets he had a picture of him and Sasuke he had forgotten to take out; a leaf and a drawing of ninja weapons from Sasuke.

Those would become extremely precious to him. As he crossed the border, he was officially a rogue ninja of Konohagakure. He used a kunai knife to make a line through his headband and cried as he ran away from the one place that he called home.

A/N: There we go…The Uchiha Massacre. This was a lot harder to write then the others. Again there will be another time-skip and this ends the introduction arc. Also there is a poll on my page, help me settle something.

(1) Baten Kaitos reference

(2) Taki's Critical Finish


	14. Genin Exams Failed

A/N: This chapter skips 4 useless years and goes straight to the graduation day…along with a flashback. I also found that if you listen to the original soundtrack, from season 1 then it goes along with this. I'll try to add when to listen to them in this story in later chapters.

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks/Mindscape_

"Jutsu/Technique"

'_4 years…time really does go by fast…along with other things…'_ This was the thought of one Naruto Uzumaki. Over the past 4 years things have changed and he was the main reason for it. Sitting in his chair next to Hinata and Sasuke, Naruto looks around the class as discreetly as he could and saw how everyone in his class has changed. Unfortunately, that was not the best he could have done, when he noticed that the entire class was looking at him.

A 22 year old man, of average height and build and brown hair, kept in a ponytail, dark eyes and a scar that runs across the bridge of his nose, which he has had since his youth, was lecturing his class when he saw one of them ignoring everything that he said. This man turned out to be Iruka Umino, one of the few people that didn't shun Naruto, much, in the beginning. He wore the standard Konoha shinobi outfit complete with forehead protector, sandals, and flak jacket and his sleeves were also rolled up about one-fourth ways.

"Naruto…Naruto…NARUTO!" Iruka Umino used his patented 'Big Head Jutsu' and aimed his yelling all on his greatest and worst student. Naruto whipped his head around and slammed a tag on Iruka head and sat down just as Iruka's head deflated to its normal size. Iruka could only stare at Naruto in the act has he blatant use of one of his own seals on his instructor…again. Iruka was about to scold him when he saw the look in Naruto's eye that he both feared and respected.

"Ah shud up already Iruka-sensei, it's the same thing every day in this class. You stand out in front of everyone in the class and talk about something in a less that exciting manner while we sit here and listen to you bored out of our minds." Everyone looked at Naruto as he simply placed his favorite goggles over his eyes and laid his head down. Iruka would have yelled more at him, but he did prove a point…his lectures sucked.

Looking over to Naruto's direction, Iruka looked at how he changed over the years. He was glad when Naruto got rid of that orange jumpsuit that he always wore, and switched to something more…lethal and shinobi like. Naruto now wore a crimson T-shirt with silver stripes in the middle of the sleeves. On his arms he wears black sleeves with metal arm protectors over them. He also has leather straps around his back and chest would hold two blades on this right shoulder and lower back. Naruto also wore a black mask to hide his whisker marks, but also showed his eyes, that reminded Iruka too much like someone else, and silver goggles on his head. Iruka could only smile when he remembered how Naruto looked like when he first came through the doors of the academy.

_- Flashback (Iruka's Homeroom) -_

_It was the middle of October and Iruka was looked over the test that he received from his students while everyone was talking amongst each other. One of the few people that he had an eye on was Sasuke Uchiha, that only living heir to the Uchiha clan. Iruka knew what had happened on the night of the massacre, and sympathized with the young Uchiha at the loss of his family. Sasuke __had hair that was spiky in the back with bangs that hung above his eyes. Iruka also knew that Sasuke was considered quite handsome since most girls near his age become very infatuated with him, but he always ended up ignoring them. Sasuke also wore the traditional Uchiha clothing: a blue, short-sleeved shirt with a high collar and the Uchiha crest on the back and white arm warmers. The boy was also quite the brooder when it came to certain things involved with his clan._

_His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the classroom door opening and two people stepping in and everyone looking wide eyed at the two strangers. One of the two was a boy that wore an orange long-sleeve shirt covered by a blue sleeveless hoodie and black shortcuts each with a spiral crest on them along with a Kitsune ANBU mask over his face to conceal everything behind it. One thing that tipped off Iruka was the blonde head of hair that was on top of the child's head. While Iruka smiled the mask caught the eye of many of the girls in the room, and many of the boys that sized him up, causing one thing that was screamed by almost every girl in the room._

"_KAWAĪ!"_

_Everyone put their hand up to their ears and held them so that they would go deaf from the girls that practically screamed their heads off. The boy simply looked in the direction of class and bowed before he turned to Iruka and did the nodded his head, receiving the same in response. Everyone watched at the boy did things in the most respectable way, which was until he hugged the other one person that entered the room with him. Once everyone got a look at the older person many of the boys were shot out of their seats from the massive nosebleeds that erupted from looking; Even Sasuke blushed from seeing the older woman that hugged the new kid._

_Iruka kept himself in-check as he looked at Taki._

_Taki appeared unmasked, and had her dark hair is let loose instead of being tied in her signature ponytail. Taki wore demon inspired gauntlets, navy blue tights, and added fishnet elements to her attire. The tall Kunoichi also wore a stylish black robe over her body suit, an ordinary grey headband, as well as mid-thigh boots. One thing that Taki also wore, were the two blades that rested on her back and a necklace with a fox that had the kanji for love placed on it._

_Taki only looked to the class and scoffed at how everyone reacted to her state of dress, more so the girls than the boys seeing as they saw her as eye candy while the girls saw her as a target. One of the students that she saw was Tsume's son, Kiba, who was practically drooling and panting like a dog when he saw her. That alone wanted her to leave the classroom immediately, but not before she hugged Naruto and shook Iruka's hand. As soon as Taki left the room everyone looked at the kid that was left behind and again sized him up to see if he would become a threat to them._

"_Now…how about you introduce yourself…okay? Tell us your name, your likes, your dislikes and hobbies." The kid nodded and walked in front of Iruka cleared his throat._

"_Hello, my name is Naruto Uzumaki…" At this Sasuke and one of the girls perked up at hearing that name. "…I like Ramen, Red Bean Soup, and my family. I dislike vegetables, and anyone that thinks their better than others. My hobbies are_ _pulling pranks, playing instruments, drawing, watering plants, practicing my calligraphy and training." By the time Naruto was done, most of the girls had hearts in their eyes and many of the boys sent a glare in Naruto's direction. Sasuke looked at the kid in shock; he was same one that he played with when school wasn't going on. Sasuke only smiled when he saw that he an open seat next to him near the window. He also noticed the other girl that was one seat over blushing._

"_Alright…Naruto feel free to sit where ever there's a seat and get to know some of your classmates. I got to grade these tests for everyone else." At this Naruto and Iruka snapped their heads around to the rest of the class to see/hear that a majority of the girls push any boy that they were sitting next to out of their chairs. Iruka simply shook his head and went back to his desk while Naruto walked up to the seats. _

_The only seats that Naruto actually saw that were open was next to a girl that had pink hair, next to the middle aisle and one next to a girl that Naruto instantly recognized as Hinata, near the window and next to Sasuke. Many of the girls watched as he sat down, and waited until her was fully sitting before they all swarmed around him and the Uchiha._

_-Flashback End-_

Since then it was a hard time for Naruto to pass since most of the other teachers either gave him harder tests or ignored his answers and tried many times to fail him, this led to him, and eventually his little sister, to start a little journey of pulling pranks in and outside of class. Needless to say, Naruto grew up and became more mature that many of the other students in the room. Iruka looked at the only two that sat next to Naruto, Hinata Hyūga and Sasuke Uchiha. Hinata and Sasuke changed over the years that they knew Naruto when it came to appearances.

Hinata had dark blue hair and clear skin; traits that she most likely inherited from her mother. She also had white, pupil-less eyes that have a tinge of lavender. She was timid with shy expression especially when she is around Naruto. Her hair is in a short, leveled hime-cut style just above her forehead, with chin-length strands framing her face. She wore a cream-colored hooded-jacket with a fire symbol on the upper right and left sleeves and fur around the cuffs and hem, with navy blue pants.

Sasuke still wore the traditional Uchiha clothing, but was now more laid back than when Naruto first met him. One thing that Iruka noticed was that after the Uchiha Massacre, both of his parents came with him to see him often and checked on his work in the academy. Fugaku surprised Iruka and more so even the Sandaime when he began to teach Sasuke more and keep him up with the rest of his class and surpassing almost everyone. One person that Sasuke was below was Naruto, but surprisingly Sasuke accepted the fact and only trained harder. Sasuke also became less of a brooder and actually tried to follow Naruto in terms of goals. One thing that Sasuke wanted was closure on why Itachi attacked the entire clan, other than that Sasuke was only more open when he was around Naruto or his parents.

"SHUT UP NARUTO-BAKA! IRUKA-SENSEI KNOWS WHAT'S BEST AND YOU KEEP INTERUPTING HIM!" Iruka was broken from his thoughts when he heard Sakura Haruno yell at the top of her lungs and land a hardened blow to the back of Naruto's skull and almost imprinted his face into the desk. Iruka just sighed and waited for his partner to announce the beginning for the Genin Exams.

Sakura Haruno was the daughter of Mebuki Haruno…in other words; she was the daughter of an arrogant civilian councilwoman. Drawing on this Sakura was one of the few girls that didn't take to anyone's opinions very well, especially when it came to her appearance and her forehead, and was part of the Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club. To say that Sakura was interested in Sasuke was like saying anAkimichi would eat only three meals a day. Sasuke looked on and did a quick analysis on the girl. Naruto and even his parents egged him about finding someone to spend time with…with either Ino, another classmate named Tsuya, or Sakura coming up in the discussions.

'Sakura…*sigh* a self-centered, arrogant girl and was solely focused on herself and developing a relationship with me…pathetic. Thanks to this, she only passed tests because she is basically a bookworm. Let's see…She also has that bright pink hair, not something a ninja should have, large green eyes, that actually scare me, and clear skin…I think that's all I can say. She also wear that red qipao dress with white circular designs on it, tight dark green shorts, and a ribbon which she uses to _try _to accentuate her face. That is not someone that I want to even be next to, let alone on the same team.' Sasuke just watched on what was happening.

Sasuke watched at Naruto's response of picking up his head and rubbing the back of it before he pulled out a scroll and began to read it over, in the process of ignoring the banshee. Meanwhile, Sasuke turned to Sakura with a scowl when she walked over to him and tried to get a date with him…once more.

"For the last time Sakura, my answer is no." Sakura, pulling a typical Haruno, ignored his answer and asked again. Only to be interrupted by a platinum blonde girl.

"Shut up Billboard Brow. Can't you see that Sasuke-kun is not interested in you? He prefers someone more attractive…someone like me." At this the girl did a simple pose and 'tried' to show off her figure. Sakura only grew a big tic-mark on her head.

"SHUT UP INO-PIG! SASUKE-KUN WOULD NEVER GO YOU SOMEONE LIKE YOU!" The two glared at each other, that you could actually see the lightning flare from their eyes. Sasuke just sighed and rested his head on his hand that were interlaced, going over who Ino was like in his thoughts and again going to Naruto and his parents egging him to get a girlfriend in life.

'Ino, Ino well…I can describe her as relatively cheerful yet bossy to others. She also takes great effort to keep up as well as improve her appearance…ugh she needs to eat a little more.' At this Sasuke looked at the two still glaring in his face. 'Let's see…she can also be very confident, kind, and outspoken…she's not afraid to speak her mind to anyone, which is bonus points for me; she has nice skin…average height with lights blue eyes….' Sasuke again looks at Ino, something that doesn't escape Naruto's peripheral sights this time.

'I think that her most noticeable trait is her appearance. Her long, platinum-blonde hair…that high-ponytail with those bangs covering the right side of her face...wait, was I just fantasizing about Ino? Eh who cares…in terms of her attire? I really don't care that she often wears those small silver hoop-earrings, but that purple vest-like blouse that could be a longer; that skirt that's cut off on the sides could also use some work and what's with bandage wraps on her stomach and legs? She could also lose those purple and white elbow warmers. All-in-all, Ino is the best choice right now. That and dog-breath has his eye on Tsuya.' With that Sasuke only shrugs and looks at Naruto, who raised his eyebrows in expectance. Deciding that this time to get things over with Sasuke looked up at the two Kunoichi-in-training, more importantly, Ino.

"Hey…Ino…" said girl looked at her long time crush with confusion. In that time Sasuke took that moment of confusion to grab the sides of her face gently and plant a kiss to her lips. Both Ino and Sakura, along with every other girl, except Hinata, in the class look him with eyes full of shock and sadness as he continued to kiss Ino. The boys in the class, besides Naruto and Iruka, look at the two and shared the expression of a fish on dry land. The room was quiet for the entire 3 minutes, until Sasuke ended the kiss and looked around to everyone's reaction. "What? There something on my face?"

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura only looked on feeling betrayed by Ino and Sasuke. Sasuke turned to Sakura, who was now crying out her eyes. "…*sob* w-why d-did y-y-you *sob* p-p-pick h-her?" Sasuke just shrugged and moved his hands to away from Ino's face and place one on her hands, causing said girl to blush.

"Because compared to you and almost every other girl else in this room, except two people…Ino was the one that I knew the most about and the only one with some shinobi skill besides Hinata and Tsuya." Ino had hearts in her eyes from hearing Sasuke praise her and clung to his arm. Sasuke just put hand to her and gentle pushed her away. "Just because I chose you…it doesn't mean it was all based on your looks. You need to change before I actually accept you." Ino just nodded and sat down in Sasuke's seat after Naruto and Hinata one seat over.

- {30 Minutes Later} -

"Okay class this test is to make sure that you know what it's like in the shinobi world, you'll need to use what you learned, including how to say jutsu normally and in the older languages. Alright now when I call up your name…you'll go outside and take the first part of the exam. You'll be tested on basic knowledge and use of weapon tools. After that you'll be taken in another room and must create a 'Transformation Technique', a 'Substitution Jutsu' and finally a 'Clone Jutsu'. Also if we do not deem you worthy to wear the Konoha Headband, then we'll have to fail you…all it takes it just failing one portion of the exam. Okay…Tsuya Yoshano." At this a sleeping red hair, with an oni-mask on the top of her head, jumped up and walked down to the door and out the class room. Everyone watched the door before going back to what they were doing. Naruto rolled up the scroll he was reading and put it in his little side pack before he got up and gathered with his friends.

"Sooo…Tsuya was the council swordsman's daughter right? The one named Mitsu Yoshano." Everyone gave him a nod to confirm his question. "How do you think she'll do?" At this one of the kids in the group spoke up.

"*Sigh* Troublesome…Naruto, she's one of the top three Kunoichi in this room. Her score is just below Hinata's and better than Ino's…I think that she has a fairly decent shot on passing. Especially since civilians based students and Shinobi based students are ranked differently." Naruto looked at the kid and smiled. It was none other than Shikamaru Nara.

In Naruto's opinion, which people find accurate, Shikamaru Nara is the most unenthusiastic kid who just likes to watch clouds. He often preferred not to get involved in "troublesome" activities, pretending to be busy to avoid responsibility. He also does not like fighting, deeming it, as he does to most things, "troublesome"." Shikamaru had fairly long jet black hair tied in a spiky ponytail, narrow brown eyes. He wore a simple pair of silver hoop earrings. His attire was rather plain, consisting of a green lined mesh T-shirt under a short sleeved grey jacket with green edges, adorned on both the sleeves and the back with a circle with a line through it, brown pants, and blue sandals.

"Shikamaru-san is right Naruto-kun. Tsuya-chan has been practicing for this all year…we encourage her more." Naruto looked to his right to see Hinata blush, over the years he was able to help her get rid of her stuttering when he was near her. Her blush on the other hand, was something that he couldn't work on at all; it's like it wouldn't leave her face when he was around. Naruto guessed that Hinata had a crush on him, but he never showed it because of her shyness and the fact that she might faint if he told her about it.

"Shikamaru Nara…you're up next."

"Troublesome." Shikamaru stood up walked over to the door and walked out. Everyone waited until their name was called and were taken away.

- {2 hours later} -

"Naruto Uzumaki…" Naruto looked up and stared at the door Iruka was standing at. Everyone looked in his direction as he got up and made his way to the door. Outside the academy doorway Iruka's partner, Mizuki was taking a paper from messenger bird. Looking it over Mizuki couldn't help but smile and chuckle at what the 'note' had said.

_Academy Instructors,_

_Please make sure that all students are taking the same test as everyone else. Anyone that is to take a personalized test is not exempt from this order._

_Signed,_

_The __Sandaime Hokage_

Mizuki turned around just as Naruto and Iruka exited the building. Just as Naruto went up to the line to the test area, Mizuki handed the letter to Iruka when he passed by. As Iruka sent a questioning glance to Mizuki, his only response was a saddened look from the man. Looking it over Iruka's eyes widened; thinking that it had a genjutsu placed over it Iruka tried to dispel it before he looked at the letter again. The signature of the Sandaime was still on the paper, clear as day.

Mizuki saw the look that Iruka had on his face and couldn't help but smirk on the inside. To him taking down both the people he hated was just too good to act sad on the inside. Mizuki could stop the 'Demon Brat' from becoming a ninja, and add more torment to Iruka when he is telling Naruto that he failed. When Iruka folded up the note, he walked passed Mizuki and stood next to Naruto.

"Alright Naruto…let's get this underway. First, hit those targets in the center as best as you can." At this Naruto pulled out five shuriken and threw all of them at the targets at once, hitting all of them right in the bulls-eye. Mizuki growled, but put a smile back on and walked up to the duo.

"Good job Naruto…now try to knock these shuriken out of the air with on kunai." Mizuki took out 10 shuriken and threw each of them one at a time and watched, with bitter hatred, as Naruto nailed each of them in the center pinning them to the practice dummies. Iruka started to cheer up a bit before he started to instruct again.

"Very good…OK Now you need to hit each target around the training area." Naruto walked to the middle of the entire grounds and jumped in the air. Both of the instructors watched as Naruto threw 5 Shuriken and 6 Kunai as he spun around in the air. Each of the blades hitting the bulls-eye of each target and one of the kunai aimed at another knocked it down and had it impale the last target behind a rock. Both Mizuki and Iruka were at a loss for words at the skill that was shown. To them it was like watching another Itachi in training…and it was no joke at that show of skill.

"Excellent Naruto…you pass this portion with a perfect score!" Iruka couldn't help but feel proud that this was one of his students. Mizuki was growling at the kid and followed the two ramen lovers back inside the academy and smiled at the next portion.

-Inside the Academy-

"Alright Naruto…go stand in the middle of the room please." Naruto complied with Iruka's request and moved to the center of the room. This was the part of the test that Naruto was actually scared of, the main fact it that even though he had a fairly good control over his chakra, he still had a hard time doing the most simple jutsu. While Naruto was fidgeting in the middle of the room Iruka turned to look at Mizuki, who just shrugged his shoulders. Seeing as Iruka wasn't going to start the next part of the exam, Mizuki spoke up.

"Okay Naruto…in order for you to pass this test, you need to perform a 'Transformation', 'Substitution', and three 'clones'. Okay, first we'll start off with the transformations, please turn into the people who we call out. Ready?" Receiving a nod from Naruto Mizuki picked up his clipboard and read it over. "First off, try to transform into me." Naruto calmed his breath and did the hand signs before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared there stood an exact copy of Mizuki in the room, and when he spoke it sounded just like the original.

"So Mizuki-sensei, how did I do?" Iruka smiled while Mizuki held back his anger at the perfect copy.

"Perfectly fine Naruto…now transform into Iruka." 'Mizuki' placed his hands in a familiar hand seal and vanished into smoke. Again when the smoke cleared, there stood an exact copy of Iruka in the middle of the room with a clipboard in his hands. Iruka smiled at his copy and smiled when he recited what he would say.

"Okay then, you passed the transformation part of the exam. Can you dispel the transformation so we can proceed?" Iruka chuckled at Naruto as he dispelled the transformation and stood in the middle of the room. Iruka took this time to take control of the exam again.

"Alright Naruto the next test it to test your substitution methods. Now catch!" Iruka tossed a pencil at Naruto, who quickly left in a puff of smoke and was replaced with a book. When both objects hit the floor Naruto came out as well from the storage closet. Smiling sheepishly Naruto returned to the center of the room and stood still. "That was good, Naruto. Now…Catch!" This time Iruka threw one of his Kunai at Naruto who stood still and let the blade pierce his chest. Both of the instructors stared wide-eyed until 'Naruto' erupted into smoke and was replaced with a log that fell on the floor.

"Hahahaha Gotcha'…man you two are really easy to fool." Iruka looked towards the window and sighed in relief that Naruto was okay, surprisingly Mizuki did to but for a different reason. Naruto got off the windowsill and walked back into the center of the room. "Alright…now let's finish this exam so I can become a ninja!" Naruto pumped his fist into the air.

"Okay Naruto, all you need to do is create three clones for us to see." Naruto finally realized that he might actually fail this exam since he could never create a simple clone, no matter how hard he tried. Iruka and Mizuki watched as Naruto did the needed hand signs and began to pull in chakra to do the jutsu. Both knew that Naruto had had a hard time creating a clone and both knew that it was the only thing that was holding him back. Hell he tried two times in the four years he's been in the academy and failed each time. This would be his third time attempting to create a clone.

Both of the academy instructors watched as Naruto filled the room with smoke. Once everything cleared there was no clone standing next to Naruto, but there was something on the floor next to Naruto's leg that looked dead. Closer inspection revealed that it was a clone.

'Not again…maybe they'll just let me pass this time.' Naruto looked up and stared at Iruka who only shook his head in sadness. This alone told Naruto that he failed the test, but he decided to let him speak. Iruka watched at Naruto tried to hold back his tears.

"I'm sorry Naruto…but…you've failed the Genin Exams…" Naruto only fell to the floor in sadness before he got up and left the academy. Iruka got up to follow him but Mizuki placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Let me talk to him, you finish up the exams." Iruka nodded and sat back down while Mizuki walked outside. He watched Naruto as he sat in one of his favorite places, the swing under the tree.

A/N: Another chapter done…wow that was a bit of a cliff hanger wasn't it. Next time Naruto will be tricked by Mizuki in stealing the Forbidden Scroll. Also the poll Votes:

Should Anko stay her age or not?

No: 4

Yes: 3

Maybe: 2

IDK: 1

There's a new poll


	15. Deception and the Truth

A/N: A/N: This chapter had Naruto becoming tricked and told his darkest secret he never knew. All song titles are from the series

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks/Mindscape_

_'Jutsu/Technique'_

_Previously:_

"_I'm sorry Naruto…but…you've failed the Genin Exams…" Naruto only fell to the floor in sadness before he got up and left the academy. Iruka got up to follow him but Mizuki placed a hand on his shoulder._

"_Let me talk to him, you finish up the exams." Iruka nodded and sat back down while Mizuki walked outside. He watched Naruto as he sat in one of his favorite places, the swing under the tree._

Now: (Listen to 'Loneliness')

Mizuki walked up to Naruto and squatted next to the sadden child. Mizuki was actually at a loss for words when he saw that Naruto didn't acknowledge that he was next to him. Mizuki followed Naruto's line of sight and saw what he was staring at…All of his friends goofing off or smiling inside their classroom because they passed the test. Mizuki knew that he needed to say something, so he decided to put his plan into action.

"Ya know…Naruto…I'm sorry that you didn't pass the test this time." Naruto just looked down and let a tear fall to the floor.

"It's alright Mizuki-sensei…I know that you didn't do anything wrong."

"Right…well Naruto how about I try to edit your scores so that you can pass…maybe give you one of the older test that were abandon. If you can pass that I'll happily give you a headband." Naruto looked up at Mizuki with confusion and wonderment. While Naruto could usually detect a trap or sense deception in anyone's word; in his moments of weakness, he was able to believe anything that was told to him so he could do better or makeup for his past actions…something Fū exploits way too often and something Mizuki recently found out about Naruto.

"You mean it?" Mizuki only smiled at Naruto and ruffled his hair.

"Of course…all you need to do is sneak into the Hokage's home and take a scroll that had the Kanji for Seal on it. Think you can do that?" Naruto nodded slowly. "Great when you have the scroll, take it just outside the village gates and wait for me. Also I don't think that anyone should know what we're planning so don't tell anyone what we talked about okay?" Naruto nodded slowly again and continued to watch his friends.

- {2 Hours Later} -

The sun was setting when Naruto looked up and saw every one of his friends showing their headbands to their parents. His sadness only increases when he heard some of the civilians parents talk about how they were glad that he didn't pass. It was at this time that Anko appeared next to Naruto and knelt down to his and enveloped him in a hug.

"It's alright that you've failed…I know how hard it is sometimes. No one is perfect Naruto …it's alright."

"Even if that person failed that exam three times in a row?" Anko only patted Naruto's head as he cried and waited for Fū to join them. (A/N: End the Song)

It wasn't much of a shocker that she appeared an ANBU, but it was a shocker that the Sandaime was also with the two as they appeared. It even got the attention of everyone in front of the school causing many to wonder why the Sandaime appeared in front of the family. Many instantly assumed that if was something bad that they deserved since one of Anko's kids were with him and an ANBU. Unfortunately, that was that exact opposite. Iruka also saw the Sandaime and decided to clear up everything on the note that he received.

"Hokage-sama…I wanted to talk…" Iruka stopped when the Hiruzen held up his hand to motion that he knew what had happened. He then held out his hand to see the note. Looking it over Hiruzen sighed and looked to Iruka.

"Iruka…Who gave this note to you and when?" Iruka motioned Hiruzen to move from Anko and Naruto so that would hear them.

"It was Mizuki…He didn't like that it showed up either….what puzzled me is that it showed up just before Naruto's turn to take the test." Hiruzen nodded and pulled out his signature pipe and lit it. Taking a drag Hiruzen sighed.

"Iruka I did not send this note out to anyone. This is most likely a forged note to make sure that Naruto-kun doesn't pass." Iruka was shocked that someone would go this far just to have Naruto fail. "But…that doesn't mean that we can't help Naruto-kun and figure out who wrote this. Let's see if he has anything to share." Iruka nodded and followed Hiruzen to the family just as the ANBU disappeared.

"Naruto …do you know anyone that would want you to fail?" Naruto looked up at the adults and shook his head in response. "I see…Mizuki had received a note earlier that he thought that the Sandaime had written. It turned out to be a fake so that you would fail."(A/N: Play 'Nervous') Naruto, Anko, and Fū all looked at Iruka with shock. "The Sandaime and I agreed that your test would be edited to that it was manageable for you to pass. We knew that you had bad chakra control so we thought of another way to test you. We did for another student in the academy since he couldn't even use chakra at all."

"Yes…unfortunately, someone must have found out about your test and made this forgery to make sure that you couldn't pass." Hiruzen looked down at Naruto and saw how he just let all his tears out when he heard that someone wanted him to fail. "Naruto-kun…I realize that you've worked hard to get where you are today…If Toki-san and Taki-san were here, they would both be proud of you. While I can't change you grades on the exam and make a genin without support…I can let you see something that I think that you'll like to see. It's something that will likely help you more that anything else." Naruto looked up in confusion before Hiruzen cleared everything up. "If you would…meet me to the Hokage's manor and you'll see what I mean." The Sandaime left in a swirl of leaves. Anko picked up Fū, seeing as she fell asleep, and walked with Naruto and Iruka to the Hokage's manor. (A/N: Stop the song)

- Hokage's Manor (Scroll Room) -

At the Hokage's Manor, Hiruzen was within the scroll room connected to the master bedroom. Looking over all the scrolls that were piled and stashed within seals, Hiruzen saw the two that he need and pulled them out the seals that they were in. One of them was fairly big and was at least the size of Naruto's height, the Kanji for Seal written on the front and sealed closed. The other was smaller and had the Kanji for loyalty written on the front and sealed with a blood seal. 'Hopefully he is ready to learn this…I know that you would agree Minato.'

Hearing a knock on the front doors of the manor, Hiruzen called two of his most loyal ANBU to help carry the lager scroll to the living room. Looking at the four that stood in his doorway Hiruzen smiled and motioned them to come inside. Naruto looked around while he walked throughout the building, seeing the Hokage's manor was not something everybody can see. When everyone entered the living room Hiruzen smiled at Naruto.

- Hokage's Manor (Living Room) -

"Naruto-kun…First off, I want to say that no matter how long it takes, you'll become a great shinobi." Naruto nodded and looked at Hiruzen's hand when he noticed that there was a scroll within it. "Now Naruto-kun these two scrolls are both very important to the village; the one I hold in my hand, belongs to you by blood so no matter what it belongs to you." At this Anko and Iruka looked behind Hiruzen and saw the other scroll that was behind him. When they saw the size their eyes widened.

"Arigato Ojii-san…what is it?" Naruto looked at the scroll and noticed that it had a blood seal on it. Hiruzen was too busy watching the looks on both Anko and Iruka's face to hear Naruto. "Is…is this a blood seal?" Hiruzen nodded at that and smiled at what Naruto had learned from Toki over the 5 years that he and his apprentice stayed in the Leaf. He saw Naruto bite his hand and tried to unseal the scroll.

"Yes Naruto-kun…that is a blood seal, but…I recommend that you wait to unseal it. It would be better when you have more experience than now don't you think?" Naruto nodded and put the scroll in his side pack. When he did that he also noticed the other, larger scroll that was behind Hiruzen. What caught Naruto's attention about the scroll was the Kanji on it that meant Seal on it. Hiruzen noticed Naruto's peaked interest focused on the scroll. "Naruto, do you know what this scroll is?" Naruto shook his head, "This scroll Naruto, holds the most powerful and most deadly jutsu that mostly the Hokage uses. It contains secrets that not many people know about. It's called the Scroll of Sealing."

"S-s-so…It would be bad if got into the wrong hands?" Hiruzen nodded and turned away from Naruto and motioned for him to follow. As soon as the two left the room the two ANBU reappeared. One of them lifted the scroll and followed Naruto and Hiruzen while the other stood in the doorway so that no one would follow. While Anko was a little pissed at this, she also reminded herself that Naruto and the Sandaime had a special bond.

- Hokage's Manor (Scroll Room) -

When Naruto followed Hiruzen to his bedroom he looked at the door to the scroll room that was left wide open. As soon as Naruto entered the room the door closed, and scared Naruto. Hiruzen sat on his bed and faced Naruto as he took off his Hokage hat. Naruto stood and watched as the ANBU passed Naruto and rolled out the scroll that Hiruzen showed earlier. (Play 'Confrontment')

"Naruto…can you tell me what jutsu you have the hardest time learning?"

"Yeah…it's the 'Clone Jutsu'. Can I ask why Ojii-san?" Hiruzen nodded and turned face Naruto.

"You just asked did…" This caused Naruto to face fault at being caught in something so simple. "If you are wondering as to why I'm asking you this question then your answer lies within this scroll." Naruto walked up to the bed as Hiruzen stepped back to give him space. Upon looking at what was written Naruto looked up to Hiruzen.

"The… 'Shadow Clone Jutsu'?"

"Yes Naruto, the 'Shadow Clone Jutsu' is a very advance technique that requires one to make a clone that is not only visible, but is also a physical copy of the user. The only problem with this jutsu is that you need to distribute the same amount of chakra to each of the clone. This alone causes most ninja who learn this to become very weak in battle." Naruto looked over the instructions and memorized everything on the scroll. Naruto's eyes widened when he realized why Mizuki wanted the scroll in the first place. (A/N: Stop the song.)

"Ojii-san…can I tell you something?" Hiruzen looked down to Naruto and nodded. "Mizuki-sensei wanted me to steal this scroll and give it to him later tonight…and I agreed to do it." Naruto looked down to the floor and began to shake from holding in his tears. "He told me that if I did that for him, then he would pass me on the Genin Exams and give me a headband. I…*sniffle* I almost…almost believed him." Hiruzen just placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Thank you for being honest with me Naruto-kun. It would have been bad if you did go through with Mizuki's plan. Deception is a ninja's best weapon and its worst weakness." Naruto stopped shaking and stood still. "Mizuki needs to answer for things…and I know just what how to get him to tell you." Naruto looked up when he heard the word 'you' come from Hiruzen's mouth.

"What do you mean Ojii-san?" Hiruzen only smiled and kneeled to Naruto's level. (A/N: End song)

- Hokage's Manor [With Iruka, Anko and Fū] -

"How do you think their doing?" Anko turned to Iruka and gave an 'Are you kidding me?' look before she turned back to Fū. Iruka for the most part only looked down to the floor because of his ignorance and over protection of Naruto. Anko for the most part wasn't as concerned about Naruto as Iruka one simple fact, she raise him along with a weapons master and an assassin. Naruto already knew the dangers of being a ninja and quickly got over the fact that he would be killing people.

"Hi…" Anko jumped in the air after she heard Naruto talk right to her face when she wasn't paying attention. Landing with ease and carefulness Anko looked over to her adoptive son.

"Naruto…What have I told you about scaring the hell out of me?!" Naruto only rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

"Gomen Kaa-san…I'm ready to go though." Anko looked at Naruto and noticed that he had the giant scroll was tied to his back with a large sash around it. Giving a questioning look to Naruto, Anko just waited for an answer. Luckily for Naruto, Hiruzen was nearby to solve that problem.

"Anko…I requested that Naruto look over this scroll and see if it there's anything that would like to learn about." Anko looked over to Naruto to Hiruzen to see if there was any deception in their eyes. Satisfied with the answer Anko went to grab Fū and left with Naruto to their home. As Iruka was leaving he was stopped by Hiruzen.

"Iruka…"

"Yes Hokage-sama?"

"Do mind if you take a shift tonight in patrolling the village walls? We're a little short tonight."

"Of course Hokage-sama…I head there now." Hiruzen nodded and watched Iruka leave before he headed back to the Hokage's Tower to finish up some paper work and watch his plan unfold.

- Chūnin Exams Tower (Naruto's Room) -

Naruto was sitting in his windowsill and waited for the time for him to leave. He was supposed to meet Mizuki out at the main gate of Konoha. It was now 10 o'clock so he needed to be there before I Mizuki showed up. It was all a part of the Sandaime's plan and Naruto wouldn't let the old man down. Naruto gathered up everything that he would need, living with a Sadistic, snake loving mother and a trained assassin for a while for 5 years, you tend to pick a habit or have a lesson beat into you to always be prepared.

- Chūnin Exams Tower (Main Entrance) -

Anko was groggily walking to the main door when she heard knocking. Mumbling something about how she couldn't get a break from Ibiki at all. Upon opening it she was surprised to see and ANBU standing at the door way. Anko just put her hand on her hips and leaned forward to give the guy or girl a mean glare. The person on the receiving end just backed up a little to get away.

"Okay what the hell do you guys want huh? If you haven't noticed…it's kinda late." Anko further proved her point when the clouds parted and revealed the moon was full that night.

"Anko Mitarashi-Uzumaki, the Hokage had requested that we are to take you to him immediately. Please come with us…also don't worry about you children; we'll have someone watching them. Neko." At this Anko watched an ANBU jump out and land next to her. All Anko needed to see was the violet hair to know who it was. Nodding and grabbing her overcoat, Anko left with the ANBU to meet the Hokage while the Neko masked ANBU slowly went up to check on the kids and to see if Naruto left for his meeting with Mizuki.

- Konoha Rooftops [With Iruka] -

Iruka was jumping around the village watching for anything that was out of the ordinary. He was about to turn in and leave when some jumped alongside of him.

"Iruka I sense a large source of chakra coming towards us…be on guard." Iruka nodded and stood on one of the rooftops and waited for whoever was coming towards them. He was surprised to see Naruto jump on the rooftop with the same scroll that he had earlier on his back.

"Naruto? What are you doing here? And why do you have that with you?" Naruto looked up and saw Iruka and mentally cursed himself for not being careful. Iruka saw what he was doing and crossed his arms to give an authoritative look. "Naruto answer me." Naruto was about to come up with an excuse when another ninja jumped beside Iruka and stared wide-eyed at the scroll.

"Iruka! That is the Scroll of Sealing! Why do have that?! More importantly, where are you going with it?" Naruto only took one step back and ran off before he could be questioned again. Iruka was a little surprised at Naruto's actions that he barely heard what was being yelled. "All troops scatter and find the Uzumaki child! He has the Scroll of Sealing with him! This is not a drill, GO…NOW!" Iruka turned to see everyone that was on guard duty taking off to find Naruto.

"Iruka I know that he was one of your students, but he had something that could potentially harm the village. We need to find him right away." Iruka shook off his shock and nodded before he leaped away and followed Naruto.

- Hokage Tower (Hokage's Office) -

"WHAT THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE'S DOING RUNNING OFF LIKE THAT!?" Hiruzen covered his ears when Anko yelled. Rightfully so, Anko watched what happened between Naruto and Iruka just now and she was pissed. "WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM…"

"Anko…calm your attitude. Don't you see that he didn't just run off, but actually found a different path?" Anko looked at Hiruzen's crystal ball again and saw that Naruto was avoiding everyone perfectly and was making his way to the village gates. Looking over to the Hokage and seeing him smile Anko crossed her arms and stared at him until she got his attention. "Huh?"

"Okay I'll bite…why are you smiling at my son when he clearly has one of the _most_ dangerous scrolls tied to his back?" Hiruzen smiled at Anko and simply turned back to his crystal ball.

- Outside Konoha (Abandon Shed) -

Naruto was resting against the side of the abandon shed that Mizuki told him to meet at. Looking over the scroll in his hands, Naruto went over the plan that he was told to do when he met Mizuki.

"Okay…lure the Teme out in the open with the scroll. Then, ask why I needed to get it for him. Next, ask it he was working with anyone else. Finally, kick his ass when he spills the beans and take the scroll back to Ojii-san. That seems simple enough." Looking over the scroll Naruto opened it and looked at the place where the 'Shadow Clone Jutsu' was at and read over everything that was on the scroll. "Well might as well practice with this while I wait. Now, Shadow Clone Jutsu!."

- Konoha Village Wall [With Iruka] -

Iruka felt a pike of chakra when he ran past a part of the village wall and stopped. Looking out to where the source was Iruka knew that it came from the place that he wished that he didn't have to go to ever again. Taking off to the area Iruka saw Naruto leaning against the wall of and abandon shed, easily a killable target if he wanted to. Walking over to Naruto, Iruka spoke up.

"There you are…Naruto…" Naruto just looked up and smiled.

"Hehehe…you found me Iruka-sensei. Wow your good I only got to practice one Jutsu from this thing." Iruka stood there shocked. 'Naruto was training this whole time that people were looking for him? I wonder what he was practicing…'

"Naruto…what are you doing out here? Why did you run off when we asked you about the scroll?" Naruto stopped laughing and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well…Mizuki-sensei told me that I was able to get this scroll from Ojii-san's house. Then he would be able to make me a Genin!" Naruto opened his arms to show his excitement, but looked at Iruka and frowned when he saw the confusion in his face. "Hey…Iruka-sensei, is there something wrong?" Iruka was still in shock at learning what Mizuki had planned and how he used Naruto.

'I can't believe that Mizuki would go this low and even trick Naruto to help him.' Looking up Iruka saw the terrified look in Naruto's face. "Naruto…did you say that Mizuki told you to do this?"

"MmHm…He was the one that told me about this place. He even told me when he would show up. He said it would be around Midnight!" Iruka's eyes widened as he looked up to the moon and saw that it was around the position it would be when its midnight. Sensing something was wrong Iruka pushed Naruto out of the way just as a barrage of kunai came hurling towards them. Naruto was more than shocked at what happened. (Play 'Nervous')

"Well, well, well…It looks like you found out about us Iruka." Both Naruto and Iruka looked up in the trees saw Mizuki standing with a smug look on his face. Looking from Iruka to Naruto, Mizuki smiled at the scroll that Naruto had brought. "Ah Naruto, you brought the scroll just like I asked you to. Now…if you would just hand it over to me, I'll make you a full-fledged Genin." Naruto for the most part was still shocked, but when Mizuki spoke up he snapped out of it and hugged the scroll protectively and back away a little bit.

"…no…no, no, NO...NOT UNTIL SOMEONE TELLS ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" Mizuki smiled at that statement.

"Naruto…" Naruto immediately looked towards Iruka and saw him rip out one of the kunai that got lodged in his right leg. "…Whatever you do, DO NOT give Mizuki that scroll. It's called the 'Scroll of Sealing' and it houses the most powerful and deadliest Jutsu that was ever recorded in the Entire Village! You need to run and get out of here…NOW NARUTO!"

"Don't listen to him Naruto..." Naruto looked at Mizuki, who still held a smug look on his face. "…You want to know what's going on right? How about why people hate you? You see Naruto there was rule that was put out twelve years ago…"

"Mizuki!...YOU KNOW IT'S AGAINST THE LAW TO SPEAK ABOUT IT!"

"Hmp….see what I mean Naruto? That law is something that everyone knows…everyone except you!" Naruto's eyes widened at this.

- - Hokage Tower (Hokage's Office) -

"He's not seriously going to tell him is he!?" Anko was frantic right now. First was her son being tricked into stealing, now she's going to have to tell him about the village's law.

"I think so Anko…you should go there now and see if you calm Naruto down when he hears this…no doubt that he'll lose control like he did last time." Anko nodded and looked at the crystal ball before she opened the window and leaped out toward her son. Hiruzen simply sighed and rested in his chair before he pulled out his pipe along with a headband that he had in his hand. "I didn't expect this…It'll be a miracle if that boy stays in control. Still if this goes as planned…then he'll receive your headband…Minato…"

- Outside Konoha (Abandon Shed) -

"When you mean everyone…do you also mean my own family knew?!" Mizuki just scoffed at Naruto's moment of idiocy.

"No…just your…mother, knew what it was. It makes sense…seeing as your sister is just like you in that sense." While Mizuki was talking with Naruto, Iruka was getting his breath and body stable enough to stop shaking. Taking the kunai that was in his leg, he threw it at Mizuki in hopes of shutting him up.

"SHUT UP BAKA! HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HEAR THIS!" Mizuki only scoffed again. Meanwhile Anko was closing in on their position that she could hear them speaking.

"That law to make sure that no one ever mentioned what happened twelve years ago." Looking up at the sky Mizuki continued. "It was on the night that the Kyūbi attacked the village…you were told that the Yondaime killed the beast the night. In reality…he sealed the demon away."

"MIZUKI STOP!"

"The container was a child born just that morning that day; you see Naruto…"

"MIZUKI I SAID SHUT UP!"

"You're that child…_you_ have the demon hidden within you…you _are_ the Kyūbi reborn!" (A/N: Stop song and start 'Bad Situation'). Naruto's eyes widened as Mizuki took out a kunai and aimed it at Naruto. "Well…Now it's time for you to die DEMON FILTH!" Anko burst through the leaves and tackled Mizuki off the branch. Iruka and Naruto were both shocked, Iruka because Anko was here and Naruto for the same reason and what he just heard.

"You leave my son alone asshole!" Mizuki, who didn't expect the sudden motion, threw the blade and quickly preformed and signs to multiply them. As Mizuki and Anko fell to the ground Naruto was still shocked and stood still as the kunai all came towards him. What he didn't expect was Iruka to jump in the way and block a majority of the blades with his back. Naruto could believe everything that was happening and suddenly he found himself crying.

"Iruka-sensei *sob* why? W-why did y-you do i-it?" Iruka looked at Naruto and smiled.

"Because Naruto *pant*…no matter *pant* what anyone else says *pant*…I've *pant* spent time with you *pant*…and I know…that you *pant* are _not_ the Kyūbi reborn *pant*." Naruto looked up and saw Anko fight with Mizuki. Just as Mizuki ducked under a high kick from Anko, she followed up by pivoting on her foot and did a back-flip kick that landed in his chin. Mizuki instantly regained his bearings and threw a left hook and nailed Anko dead center. Looking around and seeing where they were headed Naruto ran off and threw one of his kunai to get Mizuki's attention. Iruka saw what Naruto was doing and only said. "Go Naruto *pant*…GO!"

Mizuki saw that Naruto threw the kunai and deflected it before started to follow him into the woods. Anko was about to pursue them until she saw Iruka fall to the floor. Sending out a shadow clone to follow Naruto, Anko went to treat Iruka's wounds. (A/N: End Song)

- Middle of the Woods -

Mizuki was hot on Naruto's tail when he threw one of the large shuriken that was on his back. Naruto, having activated his eye easily saw the blade come towards him and dodged it without a problem.

'Amazing…this must be the sight of Water…it's just like Toki-sensei said, 'This is the predecessor of the Byakugan'. Better make use of it now that I have access to its ability now.' Naruto continued to leap forward in the trees and saw a clearing just ahead that he went for. Mizuki also saw where he was heading and smiled that Naruto was going to try and fight him.

Anko's 'clone' saw where those two headed and decided to see what would happen.

Landing in the clearing Naruto leaped to the side just as Mizuki's other large shuriken came whizzing by and implanting itself in the tree. Naruto turned around just as Mizuki landed in the clearing.

"So…you think that you can beat me?" Naruto placed the scroll on the ground next to him and pulled out his kitsune mask. Mizuki just smiled and looked in the trees and spotted Anko's clone watching them. Naruto didn't say anything as he settled in one of his signature taijutsu styles.

"I don't _think_ I can…I _know_ I can. Come on Mizuki-_teme_." Mizuki just smiled and settled in his own taijutsu stance and waited. 'This would be Naruto's first fight and the start of his adventure…I'm so proud of him'

A/N: There you go another chapter. I'll try to up load a little faster, but I still have internet problems. Also how do think I did with trying to add songs points to it.

Poll Vote as of now:

Zabuza & Haku: 14

Kimimaro & Tayuya: 10

Hayate Gekkou: 10

Third Hokage: 8

Fourth Kazekage: 3

Kin & Zaku: 1

Entire Sound Four: 1

Poll will end at the start of the Wave arc.


	16. Becoming a Genin and Making Teams

A/N: A/N: This chapter has Naruto becoming a Genin and everyone getting a preview of the teams

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks/Mindscape_

"Jutsu/Technique"

"**Demon/Summon Talking"**

- Field -

Naruto and Mizuki stood in their Taijutsu stances and watched each other with very narrow eyes; Naruto's of course was covered by his mask. Mizuki looked over the stance that Naruto had and growled at not knowing what it was called. Sure he wasn't a Taijutsu expert like Might Guy, but he knew just enough to counter with another. Seeing as he didn't know the extent of Naruto's stance and fighting style, Mizuki settled with one of his own created styles from everything that he learned.

"Tell me, Mizuki-teme…Why did you want me to get this scroll for you?" Naruto nudged his leg that the scroll was leaning to show what he meant. Mizuki just smirked again. 'Man this guy just will not stop smirking will he?'

"You really want to know?" Naruto nodded, "I wanted you to get the scroll because I knew that you were the only one that was close to the Sandaime. I figured that if anyone had a chance of getting the scroll then it would be you Naruto." Naruto just growled at the fact that Mizuki admitted to deceiving him.

"Alright…Since you were so eager to get the scroll and hightail it out of the village…does that mean that you were working for someone else?" Mizuki laughed at Naruto and pulled out a vial that he injected into his arm. 'What was that? If it's something to help him win then it might not last long…especially with his body being so thin.'

"Well, it seems that you were hiding your true potential…eh Naruto? In any case, seeing at you're going to die, I might as well tell you. Yes, I'm working for the person that wronged your 'mother'." Naruto and 'Anko' both widened their eyes at this. "I work for the glorious Orochimaru! He was able to perfect many of the forbidden Techniques and Jutsus from other villages and their Kages. I figured that he would want something to further increase his greatness! The Scroll of Sealing will not only get me in his good will, but he will grant me power. Imagine the power that he possesses and receiving just a little."

"You've completely lost it Mizuki! Kaa-san told me how he always betrayed people that worked for him! Orochi-teme will only use you until he no longer needs you!" Mizuki only laughed at Naruto. Unknown to him was the fact that Naruto was able to see his chakra points with his new sight and was working on a plan. 'Okay…from what I remember from training with Hinata-chan and her dad…If I close those points he won't be able to use chakra.' (A/N: Stop Song)

"You know Naruto…you could've become a great ninja if you only went followed my instructions and came alone. Now enough talking I want to see what the Kyūbi can do!" Mizuki ran forward with Naruto copying his actions and charging forward. Mizuki pulled back his fist and threw the first punch only for Naruto to duck underneath and send a kick up to Mizuki's face. Mizuki immediately flipped in the air and landed safely on the ground.

Lucky shot demon…" Mizuki wiped the blood that was on the edge of his mouth and stood to face Naruto. Naruto only settled in his stance watched Mizuki's movements. Mizuki did some quick handsigns and slammed his fist into the ground. "Earth Style: Caving Trench Jutsu!" The ground around Naruto's feet started to cave-in and left a five-foot trench in its wake. Jumping out of the way in time, Naruto soon found his face meeting Mizuki's fist before it met the ground as he fell.

Mizuki just laughed and pointed at Naruto as he was getting up. "You see! Compared to my skill you are nothing!" Naruto had enough and brought his hand to a cross formation and focused chakra together.

- Within Naruto's Seal -

The Kyūbi was resting in his cage when his senses picked up two chakra signatures coming from just outside. Lifting his head, Kyūbi's eyes widen and filled with shock and rage at the two figures that were standing in front of him.

"**YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" **The two people that were standing in front of the cage finally realize where they were and both stood in shock at what stood in front of him. One them was a female that let out a gasp at seeing the Kyūbi standing in front of her.

"Kyūbi?"

"How is it possible?"

"**I should ask you the same thing! But now that both of you are here I can get my revenge!"** Kyūbi charged forward and slammed his head into the bars that separated him from the two on the other end. Sending a claw to them he watched as they jumped out of the way and landed next to each other again. Doing some handsigns in a rapid pace the woman then held out her hands.

"Hidden Art: Chakra Chains Jutsu!" The ground around Kyūbi instantly shook before chains started bursting out and wrapped around the beast. Within no time Kyūbi was subdued and pinned to the floor of his cage. The woman simply sighed and placed a hand on her chest while she took deep breathes. "Now…What the hell is going on!?" The other walked to her and hugged her from behind to calm her down before sighing and letting out a deep voice to indicate that the person was a man.

"I don't know…I designed the seal so that we would appear when the Kyūbi needed to be controlled or was escaping." Both of them turned when they heard Kyūbi growl.

"**Stupid Weapon Sage and his completion of this dreaded seal…"** Even though it sounded like Kyūbi was mumbling to himself, the two others heard him clear as day. While the man was confused at what he heard it was the gasp that the woman let out that had them focused on her.

"What's wrong Honey?" The other simply stood in her place as she went over what she had just heard. She only whispered to herself so the no one heard what she said.

"It can't be…Toki-sensei…did you finally become…You gave me a second chance…" Turning around in the man's arms she looked at him with eyes that showed happiness and an explanation. "I know what happened!"

- Outside the Seal -

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Mizuki tensed when he heard what Naruto yelled out one of the jutsu that he heard about. Looking around, Mizuki only fell on the ground as he saw nothing but Naruto surrounding the area. There were so many that some were even standing on the sides of tree trunks or upside down in their branches. Naruto was actually glad that he was able to learn the tree walking technique before he entered the academy.

- Tree Line [With Anko] -

'Anko' watched with amazement at her son doing a forbidden jutsu with no stress on his part. He didn't even seem winded, not that she could tell since Naruto had his mask on his face. Anko was impressed, she learned the jutsu from her old bastard of a sensei before he left her; but Naruto learned it from reading a scroll and got it correct. 'Anko' just sat in the tree that she was in and watched what happened.

- Field [With Naruto] -

"Alright Mizuki-teme…time for you to get beat down." Mizuki only looked around and quickly got into a fighting position.

"Y-y-you c-can't win d-d-demon. I'm s-st-still s-st-stronger than y-you." Naruto only sighed at he rushed up to Mizuki with his eyes locating his chakra points and land a blow to each to shut of his chakra. Naruto only let out a sigh of disappointment as he dusted his hands off and began to walk away. Mizuki was on the floor wide-eyed at Naruto's abilities before he started to smile. Mizuki started to laugh as black marks started to cover his body and alert Naruto that something was wrong.

Naruto stood still when he felt a spike of chakra come from Mizuki. Looking over to the fallen man Naruto's eyes widened in shock at seeing the man standing with marks on his body. 'How? I blocked his chakra points to stop the flow! He shouldn't even be standing right now!'

"Hahahahahahahahaha…oh…I can feel the power. It's the most amazing thing that I've ever felt before!" Mizuki stopped laughing and looked straight at Naruto as his body started to change and become a bipedal tiger. The color of his skin changed in different areas of his body the black stripes soon covered his arms and other parts of his body. "Prepare yourself demon! This is the power of the 'Animal Cursed Seal'!" (A/N: Play 'Glued State')

Naruto began to back away from Mizuki as he began to change. Naruto had never seen anything like that in his entire life, despite it only being 12 years into said life. Naruto only watched at his clones jumped on Mizuki in an attempt to keep him down, only to be thrown off and disappear in a puff of smoke. 'Anko' wanted to help Naruto, but decided to see what he could do, it was something that she felt was a little too much of a bitch move on her part, but she didn't care. (A/N: Stop Song)

Mizuki wasted no time mowing down the seemingly endless sea of Naruto clones. Soon the numbers dwindled and Mizuki could see which one was the real one apart from the others. Rushing forward Mizuki clotheslined the last of the clones before he rammed into Naruto and sent him into a nearby tree.

"Give up Demon! You can't win against me now!" Naruto slowly got up and held his arm. Naruto had trouble breathing, but he calmed himself when he heard water rushing from a nearby river. Suddenly Naruto's eyed opened when he just realized something and activated his Sējigan to look around with his new sight.

'Of course; this sight is bound with water properties to become something like the Byakugan! I can actually use Water jutsu now! I just need to get some of the water into this field…but, how do I do that? Unless…maybe he's more unstable being in that state. I could just trick him into making more trenches for me to let water flow through here.' Naruto looked up and saw Mizuki charging at him again, but missed and hit a tree instead. "Hey *pant*…Mizuki-teme *pant*...what's wrong *pant*…can't hit a moving target?" Naruto smirked when he dodged a punch by Mizuki that created a crater in the ground where he stood. 'His movements are slowed while like this… maybe that could help me…'

"You little shit! STAY THE FUCK STILL!" Naruto dodged another punch and landed where he was in the first place while trying to stand up and casually flip Mizuki the bird. "THAT'S IT!" Mizuki went through a series of hand signs again and slammed his fist into the ground. "EARTH STYLE: MULTI-CAVING TRENCH JUTSU!" Naruto smirked again as he dodged the multiple trenches that erupted from the floor and ran towards Mizuki while summoning three more shadow clones in the process.

- Tree Line [With Anko] -

In the trees 'Anko' felt the weight of the Tree branch get heavier and looked to her right to see the Neko-masked ANBU leaning against the tree trunk along with Hana.

"He seems to be able to take care of himself now…" Anko nodded at Hana's comment and continued to watch the fight with the two kunoichi.

"…You know that this means that we won't be able to guard him as much now that he can fight on his own." 'Anko' nodded, but notice the sadness that was hidden the ANBU's voice and looked to see that she removed her mask. "He's one of the few that kept me going on with this line of work ya know?"

"Well…he may be considered an adult once he gets that headband; but I think that he'll always rely on all of us to take care of him…After all what would he be without his Neko-Oba-chan and Hana-nee-chan?" The two just nodded and continued to watch the fight that was going on.

- Field [With Naruto] -

As soon as Naruto landed he charged forward with his clones while one of them stayed back and ran with the trench in the other direction to the river. The other two ran forward with the original and threw a left hook at Mizuki. While he could withstand more hits than he would normally, Mizuki was thrown back by the punches that Naruto and his clones delivered. Before he could get his bearing Naruto was right under him and landed four punches on his stomach that pushed him up in the air. Another Naruto immediately jumped over the original and kick Mizuki in the chin and sent him flying across the field.

Once Naruto knew that Mizuki was far enough away, he and another one of his clones transformed and disappeared in smoke. While the other simply withdrew the Katana (1) sealed within his belt and waited. When the smoke cleared and the other two Narutos were now females that were holding their own weapons.

One of them had her hair in a bun with her bangs hanging off the sides of her face to frame it and the other had her hair in a braided ponytail. The first was holding a Jian (2) in her hand that was a custom made kunai blade, and the other held the twin Tonfa blades in her hands.

"Alright you two…go all out and don't let up!" Getting a 'Hai' from the two clones, the feminine Naruto that held the Jian ran forward with 'her' clones following close. Mizuki ran forward as well and started to fight the opposing side. The clones all jumped out of the way before any of them could be hit and started a series of hand signs, while the original were looking around for the last clone that still didn't return.

"Fire style: _Dancing Flame Jutsu!"_

"Wind Style: Blue Wind Storm Jutsu!"

Both of the Jutsu was sent as full speed only to be eaten (Dancing Flame), or have no effect on Mizuki (Blue Wind Storm). All three of them were shocked at this, but all of them then charged at the bipedal tiger-man. Mizuki only swung his hand and tried to dispel the fire and wind using clones. Naruto didn't know how to control his form so he fell on the ground. The reason that Naruto was transformed into a woman was the fact that he learned from Toki that some of the weapon styles were based on female movements so he needed to be like one in order to move accurately.

"THIS ENDS NOW!" Mizuki quickly did a set of hand signs before he slammed his feet to the ground. "Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears!" Naruto jumped out of the way as a series of spikes shot from the ground and were sent flying in her direction. Naruto watched the results just before he summoned another clone and was tackled out of way when a barrage of rock spikes hit were he just standing.

Mizuki let out a loud laugh at seeing Naruto running for his life around the field.

- Tree Line [With Anko] -

"Hey…" 'Anko' looked toward the ANBU operative and waited for her to look back, which she did. "…how aren't people hearing all this noise?" The Neko ANBU simply held up a tag that had the seal and Kanji for suppression written on it. Hana saw what it was and looked towards the trunk to see the same one on it.

"I manage to place Naruto's privacy tags on the surrounding trees and formed a sound-proof barrier so no one could hear the noise. A way to stop interference from this fight after all…this is his fight to begin with." 'Anko' nodded and Hana let out an 'ah' in understanding.

- Field [With Naruto (Female)] -

Naruto was tired of running and tripped over tree root that was near the forest edge. Looking back as fast as 'she' could, Naruto saw the rock spikes come towards her. Seeing that her clone wouldn't reach her in time and she wouldn't be able to dodge in time, Naruto simply closed her eyes and covered her face waiting for the pain to come. All she heard was the sound of rushing water and metal being hit.

"…"

"…hey boss, we need you to focus right now!"

Naruto looked up and saw the wind clone standing over her with the last clone fighting Mizuki. Looking around she saw that the Fire styled clone was being dispelled and that the trenches that were made earlier were now full of water.

"So…is there any reason that made him get water to flow into these things?" the clone only pointed with the tonfa that she had in her hands. "Because, last time I we looked…Water Style Users were weak against Earth Style Users." Naruto slowly got up and leaned on her clone for support.

"I know…but that doesn't mean that won't help us win." Getting a confused look from her clone Naruto quickly simplified things. "Whatever he put into his blood is feeding him chakra…I just need to hit him with some water to confuse him and then disable all his chakra points permanently so the flow can stop…At least, that the idea…" The clone nodded before she gripped Naruto's waist and helped her run.

As Mizuki dispelled the two clones he heard the other two starting to charge towards him. Smiling he began to run as fast as he could at the two and met them halfway. As soon as he was within distance the clone slid under Mizuki and hit him in the back of his head. Mizuki just let out a roar and tried to attack the clone that hit him in the head, but he missed.

Meanwhile the original, still transformed into a girl, was finished on gathering enough focus to try and use a Jutsu that she somehow already knew. The clone just ducked under another swing when she saw her leader stand up. Sending another hit to Mizuki's skull to disorient him, the clone dashed off stood next to her female leader.

"All done?" she received a nod in response. "Good…let's begin..." Both of them raised an arm and intertwined their fingers together. Eventually they both used their respective hands to create a series of hand seals and finished with a ram seal.

"SIX SIGHTS ART: INTERTWINED VISIONS JUTSU!" Upon saying this, the duo was engulfed in a flash of light that blinded Mizuki and disoriented him again. When the blinding flash ended there stood Naruto still in female form, but with longer hair and missing her mask. Mizuki looked into his eyes and saw that their irises were pure blue with no pupil, but the edges were tinted a lighter blue.

Mizuki only stopped and looked at the new threat that appeared in front of him. Letting out a growl, Mizuki raced towards the person standing in front of him and threw his fist in their face…only to have them disappear and leave an afterimage. Mizuki's eyes widen when he felt a kick in the back of his neck that sent him flying towards the water that was in one of the craters he created. After Naruto delivered the kick she immediately ran alongside a trench to the crater that Mizuki created and fell into and did a series of handsigns.

As soon as Naruto got close enough, her form separated into two again and the clone threw Naruto as it dispelled leaving the original with a lot of momentum. Just as Mizuki was getting up he saw Naruto charging at him with water that was forming around his entire arm. Mizuki tried to escape, but was too late as Naruto landed a fist in his stomach and was sent flying.

"Water Style: Ultimate Splash Spear Jutsu!"

Immediately the water that was surrounding Naruto's arm formed into a spear and sent Mizuki flying into the air and slammed him into a nearby tree harshly. Naruto took the opportunity and rushed forward with her Sējigan blazing. Seeing all of Mizuki's chakra points, Naruto added as much chakra to his fingertips before he jabbed into each and every point in the man's body. Eventually Naruto stopped when she saw that all the chakra points in Mizuki were completely destroyed, save for a few minor ones.

As soon as Naruto was standing he looked over to where Mizuki was laying and saw that he was now just a shriveled up old man. Naruto just kneeled down and fell over as the transformation was released; he was unconscious before he hit the ground. If he managed to stay up just a little longer, he would have seen 'Anko', Hana, and the ANBU jump down from their place in the tree and look at the result of Naruto's fight.

"*Whistle* Damn…If he doesn't get a headband now…" 'Anko' didn't need to finish that statement before she dispelled and left the two kunoichi to clean up everything.

- Abandon Shed [With Anko and Iruka] -

Anko was just finishing up the wrapping the gauze around Iruka's chest when she just looked up and smiled. Iruka, seeing her sudden happiness gave a confusing look at the Tokubetsu Jōnin.

"Mind if I ask why you're smiling Anko?" Anko only looked at him and helped him up before taking him back to the village.

"Let's just say that Naruto better be in that classroom when the teams are announced." Iruka looked at Anko with wide eyes.

"He beat Mizuki?"

"Yep…got another sight in the process and just created a new jutsu to get it done." Iruka just let out a laugh and walked with Anko to the hospital.

- Hokage's Office {The Next Day} -

Hiruzen rubbed his temples as he listened to everyone in the room bicker about the teams. Hiruzen wanted to get things settled before he got everyone situated…not that things would change as much. Hiruzen knew what most of the clan head would have wanted; Inoichi Yamanaka, Chōza Akimichi, and Shikaku Nara were all clan heads and formed the Ino-Shika-Chō group. No doubt in that these three men would like their own children to be in the same group as per agreement of each generation do so from the three clans. The Yamanaka were Mind Walkers, the Nara were Shadow possessors, and the Akimichi were 'Heavy-Weighted'. Tsume Inuzuka, the Inuzuka Clan Head would most likely want her son to be on a team with Naruto. Seeing as Anko, Tsume, Hana, and Naruto were all close to each other, he would assume that Tsume would demand that her son be put on a team with Naruto. Her son was also like Naruto when it came to how hyperactive they could get sometimes. Hell...Naruto managed to prank everyone in his entire class except Hinata and Sasuke, Tsume's son being the first to suffer from the dangerous blonde.

Shibi Aburame, The clan Head from the Aburame clan of bugs would most likely want his son to be placed in a team where logic and order was something that was to be used often. The man wasn't against creativity, but he had enough experience with Naruto's pranks to know when order should be used. None the less, Shibi's son would probably go well with Hiashi's daughter, Hinata.

Hiashi Hyūga was a strict man so he would also want Hinata to be on a team that used order and control to work together. Hinata was a bright young girl that was being raised in the ways of the Hyūga. Being from that clan, one can expect order to be something that was seen as an everyday skill.

Next up were Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, both of which have close ties to Naruto's family in terms that relate to making them seem like cousins. So no doubt that they would not rest until Sasuke was on the same team as the Uzumaki. Mikoto was a sweet woman that would make hell freeze over from just looking at it when she was in bad mood. Even Tsume wouldn't dare look the woman in the eyes in the fear of somehow witnessing her own death. Fugaku was just the same with the men so both would get their request on Sasuke's team placement.

Hiruzen wanted to get this out of the way as fast as he could…the only problem was that one of the Jōnin that is going to lead a team was now a hour late to the meeting. Hiruzen sighed as a man with silver gravity defying hair appeared in a swirl of leaves. Everyone stopped talking when they saw that the last person to come finally showed up.

"Sorry…I saw something bright and decided to follow it." Everyone sweat-dropped at the pathetic excuse that the Elite Jōnin made; in all honesty is was true as Kakashi saw Naruto's bright hair and also saw him being carried on Anko's back. It was no surprise that he had on one of his most notable pieces of clothing that he wore: an orange jacket that was wrapped around him.

"Now that everyone's here…" Said response made several of the people glare at Kakashi. "…I'd like to discuss the placement of you children that have recently become Genin. As a foresight on who your children are…I have taken the liberty to make a list of who the groups will be and who will be the sensei of them." Hiruzen pulled out a paper and placed on the desk for everyone to see. While looking over the list everyone saw was in understanding of the teams, more importantly, the teams of which their children were on.

It was at that moment that two people had entered the office, one being the civilian swordsman Mitsu Yoshano and the other being Mebuki Haruno. Both of which crossed the room and looked at the paper that housed their children's names. While Mebuki smiled in triumph, Mitsu was not happy as to where his daughter was placed following him was also Hiashi Hyūga.

Team 6: Tsuya Yoshano, Yonaka Kenshi (3), Sakyū no Hanaichige (4)

Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno

Team 8: Hinata Hyūga, Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka

Team 10: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Chōji Akimichi.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, but why has my daughter been place in a civilian Team while Haruno-san's isn't?" Hiruzen instantly found his headache coming back tenfold. "Not to be of disrespect, but I wish for a team transfer at the earliest convenience. Might I suggest that she be replaced with the Haruno in Team 7? She has the skills to keep up with the boys…or perhaps Team 8? Tsuya have proven to be reliable when it came to acting as a sensor." Mebuki scoffed at the idea of having her daughter replaced with someone else.

"Yoshano-san I believe that Hokage-sama had a good reason to place the teams as they are. You'll do well and not question his authority." Everyone looked at her like she had gone insane. Mitsu just rolled his eyes before he looked at the council woman.

"These words, coming from the same woman that wanted the Uzumaki out of their home at the Exams Tower? You surely aren't one be a hypocrite Mebuki. You've always questioned Hokage-sama's authority regarding that family; and if my eyes don't deceive me…the eldest Uzumaki is on the same team as your daughter." Mebuki's eyes widened at this and grabbed the paper before looking over the teams again. Seeing that her daughter was on the same team as the Uchiha was all that she cared about right at the moment and nothing could've made her angrier.

"Maybe Yoshano-san is correct on replacing some of the members of the teams." Hiashi, having grown tired of the woman's games, stepped forward and unsealed a document.

"For once, I agree with Mebuki. I would like my daughter to replace hers on Team 7." Everyone snapped their heads to Hiashi and stared at him like he had grown two heads. Handing over the paper so that only Hiruzen could see, Hiashi waited for him to speak. Everyone watched on, wondering what was on the paper that their Hokage was reading. When Hiruzen placed the paper down, he looked at Hiashi with interest, surprise, shock, and happiness all rolled into one.

"Is this document true Hiashi-san?"

"Indeed. His mother looked over the original and made…adjustments to fit both sides."

"I see. Hiashi your request to have your daughter Hinata Hyūga place on Team 7 will take place within at least a month, perhaps two at the latest."

"WHAT?! Hokage-sama may I ask as to what was on that paper?"

"You just did Haruno. Now if you would I'd like a word with Hiashi, Tsume, Shibi, Fugaku and Mikoto along with Kakashi and Kurenai staying." Mebuki was too shocked at what she was told and left the room in a daze. "Can someone please call Anko as well? She needs to be a part of this."

- {10 Minutes Later} -

Anko poked her head through the saw the 5 clan heads and 2 Jōnin around Hiruzen's desk. Seeing the paper that they were holding, Anko sighed and came through the door with the 'Scroll of Sealing' tied to her back like Naruto had it. The sound of the door closing was shat alerted them of Anko's presence, and immediately had them rush over to her, the only ones that didn't were the men.

"Is this true Anko?"

"Does anyone else know about this?"

"I assume you would have told me about this eventually?" Anko looked at them in the order that they asked the questions, Mikoto, Kurenai, and Tsume. Taking another sigh, Anko walked over to Hiruzen's desk and leaned against it. This was going to be a very long morning.

"Anko…this is also for Naruto." Anko looked at what Hiruzen had and saw the headband in his hand. Anko already knew who's it was so she just smiled and placed the headband around her neck. "Give my congratulations to Naruto on becoming a Genin and a Shinobi of Konohagakure."

(1) Misturugi's Katana (Soul Caliber)

(2) Xianghua's Weapon (Soul Caliber)

(5) Midnight Swordsman

(6) Windflower of the dunes


	17. The Sējigan and Naruto's Parents?

A/N: A/N: This chapter has Naruto meet a certain couple and Anko explains the Sējigan

"Human Talking"

'Human Thinking'

_Flashbacks/Mindscape_

"Jutsu/Technique"

"**Demon/Summon Talking"**

- Hokage's Office {Noon} -

'I'm going to have a headache worse than a hangover…' This was the thought that ran through Anko's mind as she sat in a chair and explained everything to everyone in the room. Finally feeling that the questions needed to come to an end Anko held up her hands.

"Shut UP!" Everyone stopped and looked at the Snake Mistress. "Thank you…now is there anything that I need to go into further depth? And nothing about the engagement because I swear if it's about the whole arrangement than I'm going to lose it." Everyone didn't move and observed Anko's movements, clearly not wanting to upset her more than they did. Everyone looked at Hiruzen when he cleared his throat.

"Well I think that we can all agree that we want to know about Naruto-kun's bloodline that was awakened. Do you think we could an explanation on what it does, Anko?" Hiruzen already knew what the bloodline could do, but simply asked because he knew no one had it in them to actually ask. Anko simply crossed her arms and let out a huff.

"Fine. The name of Naruto's bloodline is called the 'Sējigan'. The Sējigan was something that all Uzumaki have and is only unlocked when they feel a strong emotion that connects to their Elemental Affinity."

"You mean like the Sharingan when one feels saddened and awaken their eyes?" Anko nodded and looked over everyone.

"Exactly…only the difference was that the Sējigan is a direct bloodline from the Sage of Six Paths." Everyone had a surprised look on their face and leaned closer towards Anko. "The truth being that the Uchiha and the Senju were, in actuality, just some random children that he found. The sage had a daughter named Kio. Kio was the First Uzumaki and was blessed with the sage's first attempt to create a dōjutsu to help him. The Sējigan was the first completed version of that attempt and was the predecessor to every dōjutsu that had been created in the first place. The Uchiha and the Senju weren't the ones to receive that gift and soon went to prove that they deserved the dōjutsu more than Kio."

"So the Uchiha and the Senju were actually just random kids that the Sage just felt sorry for…then how did they get the Sharingan and the Wood Style Jutsu?" Anko looked at Fugaku and looked down a little.

"Unfortunately…that is the truth. As for the two clans getting their 'gifts' was the simple fact that they tried to kill Kio and take her eyes. All attempts to gain the eyes were unsuccessful and made them resort to other means. The Senju stopped and asked to be trained by Kio so that they could harness the Wood Style. The Uchiha actually spied on Kio and observed the function of her eyes from a distance. He took everything that he thought would help him more that everything else the eye could do and began to create the effects. Every attempt to awaken his version of the eye was a complete failure. It wasn't until he was granted the sage's eyes and the Senju were granted his body that his eyes began to awaken. The final push was the sage giving the Senju his power."

"That…explains a lot about our eyes…"

"Yeah…the sadness and feelings of being betrayed activated his eye to that he could pass it on to his children. Fortunately, whenever the two 'brothers' clashed Kio used her eyes to stop them from completely destroying each other. Because Kio was granted the sage's will and spirit she was able to harness her eyes to their fullest potential and create world peace for everyone."

"Anko…you still haven't told us what the eyes could do…" Anko shot a glare at Hiruzen and turned around to face the others again.

"I was getting to that...a little back story never hurt anyone. The truth about the Sējigan is that it is the ultimate dōjutsu that is surpassed by none. The Sējigan allows the wielder control every Elemental Affinity and easily balance the Yin and Yang in their body." Everyone went wide eyed at this and looked at who was on the same team with Naruto. Fugaku and Mikoto sighed in relief when they saw Sasuke with him; however everyone was livid at the fact that Mebuki's daughter was on the same team with the two prodigies. "Naruto is actually one of kind since he was able to unlock three of the six sights in such a short time. The Sējigan will only unlock a sight if the user experiences an incredibly strong emotion."

"Can you tell us what they are Anko?" Anko gave them all a glare that was laced with venom and leaking Killer Intent.

"Only if everyone of you promise to leave him alone if I do." Getting multiple nods Anko let up her gaze and looked out the window. "The emotions are Anger, Acceptance, Sorrow, Determination, Regret, and Serenity. Each feeling connected to each affinity. The first that Naruto had was wind…his natural affinity and the strongest out of all of them. Like I said when he experienced an emotion that he rarely had, it opened up his eyes…no pun intended. There were also some rhymes that went with each sight; I…don't remember all of them but a few." Everyone sweat-dropped at her and Hiruzen simply chuckled.

"The first sight is based on wind. Wind centers around the feeling of acceptance…it's there in your life and you don't feel anything bad towards them. Ironically enough, I accepted Naruto and unlock his first sight in the first place. . The wind's ability is to have one's concentration to increase and eliminate the use of hand signs and to have them react faster thus feeling a lot lighter. It also heightens a person's sights to the point that he is as sharp as an eagle's eye. When Naruto uses his wind sight he's speed is increased so much that he could leave afterimages when he moves around. Like the wind it can concentrate easily and in effect, have Naruto's mind sharpen; this creates the ability that he only has to think about a jutsu and ignore the hand signs entirely."

"Seeing as it sharpens the senses of a person's body I suspect that it relates to the wind being used as a blade correct?" Anko nodded at Shibi and looked back outside.

"The second sight is based on fire and what the Uchiha used as his base for creating the Sharingan. Fire centers on hatred that someone has with them…The feeling that everyone is against you and you get backed up into a corner. For me, this was no surprise that Naruto had this second…seeing as how the village treats him, along with me and Fū, like trash or a disease. The fire's ability is like the Sharingan…it can predict, copy, and mirror whoever the person is fighting. It also makes his jutsu stronger when he uses it while angered."

"I see…so in a way…the Uchiha is stealing from the Uzumaki? That is something that I never would have expected." Fugaku looked down to the floor and began to have doubts about his clan's ways. Mikoto simply grabbed his arm before she leaned onto him and smiled in order to cheer him up.

"The next sight was that of water…something that Naruto only unlocked last night. The little rhyme that goes with it was something like, 'when water runs cold Sorrow will fill a soul'…that is what can describe the third sight that Naruto has. The abilities of this include seeing every point in a person's body, both chakra points and pressure points. There is also the ability to utilize Water Style Jutsu with this. Again, this was created by the sage himself so it should be no surprise that it follows the Byakugan's properties and was used to create it."

"From what the legends say…Kio wasn't a heartless person. She actually let others study her eyes and create other dōjutsu from them or help them practice some of her jutsu; this eventually evolved into Kekki Genkai that many clans think they have ownership over. Isn't that in one those scrolls that Naruto reads?" Anko looked at Kurenai and smiled before she nodded.

"The Fourth sight is Earth based and revolves around Naruto's determination. You might think that he has that already, but the fact that he can only gain it if that emotion is the most dominate one that he feels. That said, since no one has tried to constantly to put him down, his determination was never questioned and he never had to reinforce his belief. From the scrolls that Naruto and I've read, the abilities are that of having a more stable and balanced style. That means every jutsu that he does will not lose control, his taijutsu will be more balanced with power, speed, and control to make the most out it. Hell…it he could with his Water Sight, Fire Sight, and Earth Sight, he could basically copy and master any Taijutsu stance that he sees." Hiashi looked shocked that Naruto could potentially create the most deadly form of the Gentle Fist or something else from just using his eyes.

"Incredible…with the Gentle Fist he could see every chakra point in the body thanks to his third sight, the Fire based sight will only give him a base point to follow and the Earth Style will give him complete control over his movements. Even something that he creates will be just as deadly…"

"I know…now including the Lightning based sight gives Naruto precision and accuracy. The Lightning Sight is focuses on the regret that Naruto feels and channels it into the electrical points in his body to somehow create lightning. From the scrolls that Naruto reads and from the lessons that both of us were taught, this sight allows Naruto's attacks to be more pinpoint and concentrated. All his jutsu will go where he wants it to and will pack more of a punch along with the fact that the speed of them will make them harder to avoid." Everyone thought about this and realized that Naruto is basically a new sage when it comes to mastering everything.

"What about the Yin and Yang Styled sight?"

"That one is a bit complicated…you see, Yin and Yang is something is balanced the whole time. Say Naruto mastered both of them and could use just Yin or Yang jutsu to attack. That doesn't mean that they're separated…no that just means that he mange to make the ratio of the two sides shift. Yin and Yang will always be together, the only thing is that they go together in a ratio to balance themselves out. That's why this sight is considered the most difficult one to obtain because one needs to feel complete Serenity. They need to balance out everything in their body and mind. From what Toki said, this sight will make Naruto balance out everything in his jutsu to make it perfected. This also makes him gather natural energy easier than others and, if you all know his status…will help him control everything and every jutsu that his tenant uses It also grants." By the time Anko was finished with the explanations on the _basics_ everyone was amazed at what Naruto could accomplish. Then everyone had one question on their minds and only Hiruzen said it.

"Do some of these abilities from the other sights go carry to another?"

"Yea…From the wind, Naruto still retains his speed, the fire is the basic abilities, Water: Chakra and Pressure point locations, Earth will let his keep his stability, Lightning keeps the accuracy that is given to him; The Yin-Yang will give out the total balance thing I said earlier."

"Anko…with his dōjutsu…could he also use the sub-elements as well?" Anko's eyes widen at this and she let out a groan as she looked toward the ceiling in the office.

'Kami must really hate me today…god I wanted to avoid this. Next they'll want to talk about Naruto's fighting styles that he uses with his weapons.'

"Also could you give us a reason as to why he uses specific weapons and styles?" Anko's eye twitched a little before she calmed herself down and took deep breathes.

"*Sigh* Ah fine…but I want a week off from missions and from Ibiki if I tell you, Deal?" Hiruzen nodded and began to bring out the need paperwork to fulfill Anko's demands. "Alright…to put it bluntly…yes Naruto is able to use Sub-elements once he learns the two or even three elements needed to perform them. That said one of the styles that he manage to make was Suna's Scorch Style by mixing his Fire Sight and Wind Sight together…still it doesn't mean that he had complete control over it and still needs to train with it. With the Water Sight also being available…he could mix that with his wind and create Ice Styled jutsu or with his fire to create Vapor Styled jutsu." Hiruzen looked up at this information and realized that those 'were' supposed to be Kekki Genkai from Kirigakure.

"Interesting…very interesting and the use of weapons that he was given from Toki, before his departure, adds to this as well." Anko just nodded

"Yeah…the weapons that he uses are based on the elements and revolve around them when in battle. For instance…the Fire Style uses the katana because its movements can be started but can cause havoc if the opponent doesn't keep an eye in it like a fire in the middle of the woods. The tonfa is based on wind because it spins in the user's hand and can be concentrated on one part or simple movements to cut through something. Water styled kenjutsu had Naruto using a Jian because is can easily change its shape and become flexible and go around like water does to its obstacles."

"What of the other three that Naruto could learn?"

"Well…the Earth will have him using a two-handed heavy weapon like a giant hammer…the lightning will likely use Kodachi for its style seeing as Naruto was trained in something like that and it also add to the precision of the attacks; and the Yin and Yang will likely have Naruto use shakujō or something similar to the Sage of the Six Paths. The sub-elements will likely mix two of the styles like the Scorch Style using the Hidden Blade kenjutsu style because of it being like a katana, but is used more quickly than it."

"Is there anything else that contributes to this?"

"Yeah there is its…wait…why am I telling you all this anyway? The only one that should know about this is Hiashi since his daughter will be on Naruto's Team!" Everyone looked at each other before the looked back at Anko. Unbeknownst to any of them Hiruzen was doing a series of hand seals and was on the last seal.

"Anko…could you finish this conversation?"

"Fine…the last piece of information is that some of the styles are based on female movements…in other words Naruto has to do a transformation and turn into a girl to use the style more effectively. There is everyone happy?"

"Yes Anko…I think that everyone is happy to have once known this…" Anko looked over to Hiruzen and saw the last hand seal and quickly placed her hands over her ears and closed her eyes just at Hiruzen yelled. "Hidden Jutsu: Memory Loss!" Anko let her hands fall to her sides and left out a sigh of relief before she looked at Hiruzen. He only smiled and handed Anko her papers and dismissed everyone from the room. None of them remembering what had happened in the past 2 Hours of explanation on the Engagement and Naruto's eyes except Anko and Hiruzen.

- Chūnin Exams Tower (Naruto's Room) -

If one was to go to the Chūnin Exams Tower, they would likely see something that they wouldn't see in public. In this case it was Naruto and Fū both hanging out of his window by their legs taunting a giant snake that was circling the tower about 8 stories under them. One thing about Naruto that many would see is that he was a reckless person that would fail as a ninja in life; that would change if they saw that he was actually practicing a chakra control exercise with Fū not even knowing.

Fū on the other hand was too busy messing with the abnormally large snake that was beneath her trying to bite her head off. Fū was still in the academy for another year since she was still a year younger that Naruto; her outfit consisted of a short-sleeved White and Mint-green blouse and black pants, both of which had a design similar to spirals on them, White fingerless gloves and white beads around her left hand. She also wore a black bandana on her right arm, blue sandals and kunai holster which was strapped to her right thigh. She also wore bandages around her arms and legs as well as a red belt around her waist that had her tonfas sealed within.

Both their clothes, and every set for a matter of fact, were created by Naruto when he was experimenting with different types of fabrics. Eventually he introduced to his family to a new type of protection from weapons. When Naruto had weaved together fine silk that he got from the Fire Diamyo's wife, thin ninja wire, and other materials; he had created fabric that was every bit as strong as 5 inch thick metal at a one-fourth of the weight as chainmail. Kakashi, Iruka and Asuma's vests were made of this cloth along with Kurenai's outfit. Anko's overcoat and clothes and her current attire had been special made by Naruto, because he hated mending her coat with all the cuts in them. He also had to add his masks into that category since at one point many of the girls in his class tried to shred the cloth that covered his lower face and hide his whisker marks from everyone.

Eventually Fū started to get dizzy and got up from her hanging position. Looking around Fū tried to get her bearings as the world was spinning around too fast. When everything stopped, Fū looked into a mirror that Naruto had in his room and saw all the blood that rushed to her head start to leave her face. Naruto chose this time to get up from his perch and look at Fū with smirk; causing the first thing she noticed was the absence of red in Naruto's face.

"Hey…how come you didn't her a head rush when I did?"

"Chakra control…" It took a moment for Fū to understand what Naruto said, but she nodded waited for her head to settle down. Naruto simply laid on his bed and brought out one of his father's flute and began to play as Fū laid next to him and fell asleep. It wasn't uncommon to see Fū next to Naruto when he was either relaxing or playing his flute; the two adopted siblings had a special connection when it came to comforting each other. As Naruto continued to play there was something that was happening within his seal that he wouldn't find out until tonight.

- Chūnin Exams Tower {3 hours later} -

Anko walked towards Naruto's room with his headband that was given to her earlier that day. There were a few reasons that this headband was special not only to Naruto, but to her as well. The First was that the headband was his father's, the Yondaime Hokage's, first headband. The second reason being that this signified that Naruto was now considered an adult to the village and that he could finally take care of himself now legally. The Final reason was that this was Anko's first successful attempt at creating a strong storage seal that was placed behind the metal piece that held both his favorite goggles and his kitsune mask.

As she peaked her head in the doorway Anko smiled at seeing her kids sleeping next to each other like they had done when they were younger and still scared of things like the dark. Walking over to Naruto's desk, Anko placed the headband on top and wrote a note next to it before she left for her work at the T&I Department, but stopped at the door and looked out the window.

"Watch over them…Alright Yūgao-chan?" When Anko finished the Neko-ANBU leaped through the window and nodded before she sat in the windowsill and looked out side. Anko only shrugged and walked out; missing the glance that Yūgao gave to Naruto and Fū before she smiled behind her mask and continued to look outside.

-Inside Naruto's Seal-

_Naruto was both confused and pissed that he was lost. As soon as he went to sleep he woke up to the sound of leaking water and found out that he was in a sewer. What made it scary for him was the fact that he was the only one there and that there were doors that were locked and covered with chains along the corridor. While Naruto wasn't one to get angered quickly or even curse out his life, he was slowly losing his calm style and was gaining tick marks on his head as he passed the same door for the past 10 times._

"_WHERE THE HELL AM I?!" Naruto's voice echoed through out the corridor and went into silence before he started to hear what seemed like three people talking; or….two people scolding another about their actions. Naruto couldn't make out any words, so he decided to follow the sounds and see what's happening._

_[With Ky__ūbi__]_

"_So Ky__ūbi…do we have a deal? You will not harm our son…at all." __Ky__ūbi only sighed and looked at the two opposing parents that were standing in front of the cage._

"_**Alright Kushi-chan…I promise to not harm your son when he get here. Speaking of which…he's walking around these hall like a lost kit."**__ The woman gasped before she looked around the area trying to find her son. The man casually leaned against the wall and smile at the woman's action. What made him smile was the fact that out of all this being talked about, she still cared about their child and wanted to meet him. He would be lying if he said that he didn't want to meet the son that he so royally screwed on the day he was born._

_Minato-koi…Help me find our son! He's lost in his own mind and doesn't even know about any of us being here!" The man, now identified as Minato, quickly jumped up from his position and quickly walked over to his wife and hugged her to calm her down. Ky__ūbi simply let out what seemed like a quick laugh and watched the man, that he lost to, be controlled by his own wife._

"_Relax Kushina…have a little faith in him, after all…he is our son." Minato smiled as his wife stopped and simply relaxed into his arms and waited for their son to make an appearance and finally meet them. That was until they heard the sound someone shouting something that sounded like, 'WHERE THE HELL AM I?!' Kushina was now acting frantic again and both Minato and Ky__ūbi sweat dropped at her reaction._

"_**You really picked a winner there Minato-ku…err Minato…a real winner."**__ Minato simply hung his head, missing the slight slip that __Ky__ūbi made, and waited for his son to arrive; that is if he ever arrived._

_[With Naruto]_

_Naruto was officially pissed, for who knows how long he's been trying to find the source of the noise that he heard. Looking around he let out a groan and continued to walk until he saw a little fox peaking its head from around the corner. Looking at it, Naruto cocked his head in confusion and watch the small kit do the same. Taking a step forward Naruto held out his hand and slowly walked to the small animal._

"_Hey there…are you lost?" The little fox walked out and cautiously walked to Naruto and let its head lean into his hand. Naruto let out a small chuckle before picking up the animal and placing it on his head like he saw a certain someone do often. "You're really small, like Akamaru." The small fox only let out a yip in response and Naruto continued walking and talking to his new companion._

_[With Ky__ūbi and company__]_

_Kushina and Minato were having an argument over Naruto's wellbeing Ky__ūbi was laughing at the couple before stopping and perking his ears up and listening. Looking at the couple still arguing, __Ky__ūbi decided to let this slip his mind and watch what happens when Naruto walks in._

"_Minato-koi Naruto may be our son, but lets face it…he would have been here by now. He may be lost, INSIDE HIS OWN MIND! We need to go out there and find him." Minato simply held onto his wife as she struggled to get out his grip._

"_Kushina-chan…I'm sure with all the noise that you're making, our musuko will hear you…" Minato stopped when he felt a rise in anger and slowly looked at his wife. Said wife was slowly turning to him and spoke in voice that was overly too sweet to be good._

"_What was that…Min-a-to-koi?" Suddenly Minato let out a girlish scream as his wife grabbed him and put him in a Full-Nelson headlock. Minato tried to get out…but he was weak compared to his wife that once held the __Ky__ūbi no Kitsune. "Come on Minato-koi, say it!"_

"_NO!" Kushina started to tighten on her grip on him._

"_Say IT!"_

"_NO!" A little tighter._

"_SAY IT!"_

"_NO!" a sharp tug._

"_SAY IT MINATO!" _

"_ALRIGHT…ALRIGHT!" Minato simply stayed silent until Kushina tugged on her grip._

"_I'M WAITING!"_

"_KUSHINA IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD…"_

"_and?"_

"_THE SMARTEST, SEXIEST WOMAN I KNOW…"_

"_And!?"_

"_SHE'S ALWAYS RIGHT AND I'M ALWAYS WRONG…"_

"_Keep going!" Kushina put a little more force into the grip_

"_SHE…SHE…SHE'S THE WOMAN THAT COMPLETES MY LIFE! GAH!" Kushina was smiling at her work until she heard a splash looked up to see Naruto looking until at her in…fear? Raising her hand Kushina simply smiled and let out a little wave._

"_Uh…Hello Naruto…"_

_- [With Naruto] -_

_Naruto was talking to the fox on his head when he heard the sound of a girlish scream. Looking up to the fox that was on his head Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders._

"_What do you think that was?" He only got into a yip in response. "Yeah…we should go check it out." Following the sounds of shouting Naruto rounded the corner and saw one of the few awkward moments that he stumbled into; the sight of a Red Head that had a Blonde in a headlock yelling at each other. Naruto saw the man look at him and mouthed the words, 'Help me' only to hesitantly shake his head no and watch as the woman tugged on her grip and yell at the man again._

"_I'M WAITING!"_

"_KUSHINA IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD…"_

"_and?"_

"_THE SMARTEST, SEXIEST WOMAN I KNOW…"_

"_And!?"_

"_SHE'S ALWAYS RIGHT AND I'M ALWAYS WRONG…"_

"_Keep going!" Kushina put a little more force into the grip_

"_SHE…SHE'S THE WOMAN THAT COMPLETES MY LIFE! GAH!" Naruto saw that the woman, now named Kushina, was smiling at her work. Naruto took this time to take a step back and make a splash in the water, alerting the scary red head of his presence. Naruto stood still and looked on, scared for his life. He didn't do anything when he saw he raise her hand and give him a small wave with a warm smile._

"_Uh…Hello Naruto-chan…"Naruto just waved a little and held the fox in his arms like it would shield him. Kushina was now mentally scolding herself about her actions and Minato was trying to get the feelings back to his arms_

"_W-who are you?" Kushina looked up and gave another warm smile before she spoke._

"_Well, I guess you wouldn't recognize us since we've only had you for a day…my name is Kushina Uzumaki, and this is my husband Minato Namikaze…we're your parents Naruto-chan."_

A/N: There's another chapter done. What you think huh? Shocker. If you haven't guessed it, this chapter was just to explain the abilities of the Sējigan because I wanted to get it out of the way.

Also, here is the poll total so far

Zabuza & Haku: 41

Kimimaro & Tayuya: 28

Hayate Gekkou: 23

Third Hogake: 23

Fourth Kazekage: 7

Kin and Zaku: 4

Entire Sound Four: 4

Personally, I don't really want the third to win because then it would be a little difficult to manage the story, but I'll work something out. Also this poll was for people to live **&** help Naruto. This means that some will live but won't help him.


	18. The Teams

A/N: This chapter makes the teams and a flashback or two

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking'  
_Flashbacks/Mindscape_

- Academy (Iruka's Homeroom) -

Naruto was bored, with a capital B. Today was the day that he would be graduating from the academy, but he's been at the academy since 6 A.M. It wasn't that bad, but considering that he was being complained at from Kiba Inuzuka, Hana's younger, much hyperactive brother, about the number of 'hot' woman he knew; He was about the castrate the poor dog boy.

Kiba Inuzuka was the brash and impulsive son of Tsume Inuzuka. Naruto knew Kiba because he was not only the first victim that had fallen to him, but because of his mom. Naruto also knew that Tsume would occasionally rant about her son's behavior when Naruto was visiting her and Hana. Naruto also knew that Kiba was prone to make mistakes when he spars with other and is angered in the process. Kiba had the red fang marks on the side of his face that signified that he was an Inuzuka, along with the slit eyes, large canines in his mouth, and elongated nails. His outfit also added to his feral-like appearance. Sporting greyish pants that reached to his claves and a grey fur-lined coat that held his companion, Kiba looked and defined the term wild.

One thing that Naruto knew that would always protected by and protective of Kiba was his dog, Akamaru. Akamaru is a small white dog that resembled a Great Pyrenees; his eyes were constantly squinted, and dark marking rested in his ears and around his mouth. The top of the puppy's head was his hair that resembled a Mohawk and the pup would always be nearby Kiba. The only time Akamaru would abandon Kiba would be if he faced Naruto, his sister Hana, his mother Tsume, or Naruto's sister.

"Hey Naruto? Woho…you there man?"

"Huh? You say something Kiba?" Kiba got a tick-mark on his head, but let it go.

"Yeah…how do you know so many hot women in the village?" Naruto groaned at the topic, but decided to go along with the ride after the first time that Kiba had ranted about it.

"What?"

"Come on, man! There was that one kunoichi that used to drop you off the first three years, and always gave you a kiss on the cheek. Then there was that other lady with the purple hair that would follow you and your sister to school. Let's not forget about that one girl that works at that ramen stand that would deliver lunch to you and Fū-chan now and then along with everyone else." Kiba had a daze in his eyes that was soon gone when he felt a spike in killer intent coming from Naruto.

"Kiba…I'm going to pretend that you didn't just call my sister 'Fū-chan'. Besides you know that she's more interested in Shino, something that I actually think is a good thing. True that you help me in pranks from time to time, but those two have a certain connection. Also…aren't you into Tsuya?" Naruto made the point by tapping his pointer fingers together. Kiba smiled at the praise from the 'King of Pranks' himself, but was a little sad to admit that Naruto's sister, though developed for her age, was interested in the Aburame instead of him.

Speaking of which, Shino Aburame was the son, and clan heir, of Shibi Aburame, the Clan Head of the Aburame Clan. Shino was in a way independent to almost everyone; two of those exceptions were Naruto's family and Sasuke's Family. Shino is usually calm, collected, and solitary around most of the class; focusing on the matter-of-facts and being stoic to everyone, even his family. One of things that everyone was surprised was the fact that Shino would blush around Naruto's sister, Fū; even more surprising was that Naruto often encouraged Shino to be with her, but become overprotective when any other boy approached her. The attire that anyone could identify as Shino consisted of the typical Aburame coat that was Sea-green coat with a high up-tuned collar and the sunglasses that covered his eyes that were looking over to the two boy at that moment.

"Come on…don't you think that I at least have a chance with her?"

"*Deep Inhale* No…" Kiba face-faulted and had a large sweat-drop on the back of his head. "..The reason being that she still hasn't forgiven you for your 'accident', and that both she and Shino have the same strong interest in bugs. Also she doesn't want Akamaru suffering because of your stupidity that pops up now and then." Kiba was about to open his mouth when a certain 'big-boned' boy walked over and joined the conversation…with the topic of food becoming a priority.

"Hey Naruto…did you bring any lunch today?"

"Hey Chōji…and yeah I did, extra servings for you like I promised."

"Awesome…" Naruto looked at the 'big-boned' boy and smile at him. Chōji Akimichi, like Shino is the clan heir to the Akimichi Clan and son ojjf the current Clan Head, Chōza Akimichi. Chōji, in Naruto's opinion, which was saying something to many of the students, was a very kind, polite and caring person. Someone that Naruto knew about almost too much, Chōji usually has the one track mind consisting of food-based topics. Naruto even cooked for him and his family once when they were invited over…and regretted that decision now and then; the reason being that Chōji and Chōza had become addicted to his cooking and had to show Chōji's mom how he cooked. One thing that everyone knew about the Akimichi Clan was that everyone in that clan will instantly become enraged when they are called 'fat'; Chōji was no exception which led Naruto to calling him a 'big-boned' guy. Looking him over, Naruto saw that he wore Black pants, a White scarf, and a short-sleeved Green Haori over a white shirt with his clan's symbol on it. He also wore small hooped earrings and had bandage wrappings around his forearms and legs.

"Hey Chōji be straight with me…do you think I have a chance with Naruto's sister?" Chōji looked at Kiba and thought it over as he ate his favorite bag of BBQ flavored chips.

"Honestly?" Getting a nod from Kiba, Chōji stopped eating, "…No." Kiba face-faulted again when Chōji gave his answer.

"You too?"

"What? You said you wanted my honest answer…besides I don't think that she forgave you for that 'accident' you had when first met." Naruto decided to let out a laugh and explained when the accident was, that had everyone listening.

- _Flashback {F__ū's First Day at the Academy__} _-

_Naruto and F__ū were sitting by the tree near the swings with Sasuke and Hinata. In other words, Naruto and Sasuke were sitting on a tree branch while __F__ū and Hinata were talking to each other on the ground. It was lunch time and Naruto had cooked lunch for him and __F__ū so they decided to share what they had with Naruto's closest friends. The reason that Naruto was with Sasuke in the tree was because many of the fangirls that Sasuke had were looking for him. The tree had enough foliage to hide him and let him eat his lunch in peace, along with Naruto, since he did carve his name into said tree and claimed it as his._

"_So Naruto…when did you learn to cook?" Sasuke was currently eating an Onigiri that had tomatoes in it. One thing that Sasuke's mother shared about Sasuke with Naruto was his appreciation of food that had tomatoes in them. The one thing that many can count on was Naruto's natural ability to create a food and make suits a person's specific taste. The only one that he couldn't do for was himself and F__ū since both had a deep love for ramen that only Ayame and her father could cure._

"_Ever since I was six actually…Ayame-nee-chan taught me how. It was mainly just ramen at first, but eventually we both started on other foods and I found out that I was a natural at cooking." Sasuke nodded at that and took another bite out his rice ball, savoring the taste within. Both Naruto and Sasuke were caught in their conversation about their goals in life, that they missed a certain Inuzuka walking up to the girls under them._

"_Hello ladies, what are two beautiful girls such as you two doing under this tree?" F__ū looked up and saw Kiba before she let out a quiet groan in annoyance. This was the same kid that her nii-san told her to avoid. Apparently, Kami chose today to mess with her, and she was not happy. Looking up in the tree __F__ū tried to find her brother and hopefully get him to run interference with this boy's actions. Kiba noticed that one of the girls was actually Hinata. The other was someone that he guessed was a new girl or a first year student. Either way, Kiba saw it as his duty to show the girl a good time around the academy…and hopefully not get hurt in the process._

"_H-hello Kiba-kun…"_

"_Hey…who's your friend? Is she a new girl?" Hinata looked at F__ū and noticed that she was still staring up in the trees. Hinata looked back at Kiba and nodded her head a little._

"_H-h-hai, this i-is F-f__ū-chan. T-th-this is h-her f-first y-ye-year h-here.__" Kiba's smile only widened before he walked up to F__ū._

"_Hey there…names Kiba, What can I call you?" __F__ū finally gave up looking for Naruto and Sasuke for the moment, both hidden under a seal that was on the branch making them invisible, and looked at the feral boy. She couldn't help but pretend to vomit at the boy in front of her._

"_Get lost Dog-breath. I'm looking for someone…but that puppy you have looks cute." At this time Akamaru popped his head out from Kiba's jacket and let out a rather quiet yip. F__ū smiled at the pup before she looked around and tried to find someone else that could be more interesting. Seeing that Kiba was still standing in front of her,__ F__ū let out an annoyed sigh and looked up at his face.__ "Look…rather than standing there like an idiot and checking me out, get out the way…I'm not interested in losers."_

"_Hey! I'm not a loser…I'm the third best at Taijutsu in my grade." F__ū scoffed at him._

"_Yeah? My nii-san is __**the**__ best at Taijutsu in his grade…so compared to him you're still a loser." To add more insult, F__ū stuck out her tongue out and made a face; gaining the satisfaction of making Kiba more pissed at her. "I bet that you couldn't even climb this tree faster that I can loser."_

"_Oh Yeah?! Well I bet a month of my allowance that I can beat you." Grabbing F__ū's hand and giving it a hard handshake Kiba let out a feral grin._

_- {10 Minutes later} -_

_Kiba and F__ū were both standing about 5 feet from tree's base and looked at each other. At the drop of a leaf, both of them dashed up the side and started to climb the tree to the top. Akamaru was in Hinata's grasp and watched as his partner was reduced to race a girl younger than him to get respect before letting out a whimper and shook his head in shame. Hinata was actually shaking a little since Naruto was __F__ū's sister and Kiba was racing her. Those two boys did __**not**__ really get along well since Naruto's first prank of putting itching powder in Kiba's underwear was a huge success._

_In the trees F__ū was in front of Kiba and currently winning the little race that they had, much to Kiba's annoyance. As soon as __F__ū passed the seal and saw her brother was talking to Sasuke, she stopped and looked at him with an 'are you kidding me?' look on her face. Naruto noticing the look stared back at her and shrugged his shoulders._

"_What?"_

"_I've been looking for you that what! Dog-breath decided to pay us a little visit and tried to hit on me. Now we're racing because I called him a 'Loser' and he took that to great annoyance." Looking down F__ū saw that Kiba was gone; looking up she saw that Kiba was near the top of the tree. Letting out a yell in surprise, __F__ū immediately placed chakra to the soles of her sandals and climbed the tree like a monkey. Unfortunately when she got near Kiba, he misplaced a foot and slammed it into__ F__ū's face before he lost his grip and fell from the tree._

_Letting instinct take over, Kiba grabbed the closest thing that he could reach; that thing being F__ū's shirt. As a result Kiba ripped off __F__ū's shirt, adding in that she forgot to put a bra or wrappings on before she left, and had exposed her to everyone watching, along with falling a painful way and hitting the ground hard. Needless to say,__ F__ū was pissed, but even after she won the race , she was storming down the tree. Naruto watched what happened and began to take his shirt off as he looked back towards Sasuke. _

"_Don't look or else..." Naruto let the threat hang and watched as Sasuke nodded and covered his eyes, before he grabbed his sister and put his shirt over her._

_When she got down with Naruto's shirt over her to cover her up,__ F__ū was walking up to a dazed Kiba on the floor. Kiba was shaking the dogs that were chasing their tails around his head, and looked up from his sitting position and saw a __**very**__ pissed off girl giving him a death glare. Looking in his hand, Kiba's eyes widened and shifted his gaze between the shirt in his hands and the girl that standing in front of him._

"_ERO-BAKA!" Before Kiba could defend or explain himself, F__ū slammed her heel into Kiba's precious jewels. Letting out a small whimper at the pain Kiba looked up and saw Naruto, shirtless too many of the girls approval, and Sasuke drop from the tree and winced at him and his position._

"_Come on Imouto…was that really needed?"_

"_Yes! This Ero-Baka ripped off my shirt Nii-san! He's lucky Kaa-san and Oba-chan are friends! I could have done worse!" Kiba's eye's widened at the realization that Naruto was F__ū's older brother and that someone in his clan knew who he was along with being friends with their mother. He could only watch as Naruto had __F__ū climb his back so he could take her back to their house, where ever it was, so she could change into a new shirt, and hopefully put a bra on._

'_I'm in so much trouble when I get home tonight.' Kiba had no Idea what he was in for when he got home that day._

_-Flashback End-_

Needless to say, Kiba couldn't pee right for a month, lost said month's allowance to Fū and his mom became extra fierce at him when he was around girls. Laughing his ass off, Naruto fell out of the chair and got up to get some water before more people started to show up. Once everything had calmed down, Kiba had an idea in his head, which he knew would either get him killed or get him respected. Looking at the clock Kiba saw that I was usually the time that Hinata would arrive. The door opened and said girl appeared in the doorway with one of her servants.

As Kiba saw Hinata walk up the stairs, he stopped her from getting to her seat with some quick idle talk. Seeing that Naruto came back Kiba took his plan into action. Saying bye to Hinata and having Naruto call her name Kiba kicked out his foot and tripped Naruto on the stairs leading to his seat. Hinata still standing where she was when Naruto called her name saw the boy that she had a crush on fall. Unfortunately, or fortunately for Hinata, she was there to catch him from hitting the floor and in the process notice that she wasn't as strong as him.

For Naruto's part when he fell he knew that he would likely hurt Hinata so he tried to shift his weight so it wouldn't do as much damage. Again unfortunately, or fortunately, that shift in weight caused his lips to line up with Hinata's. Everyone went quiet when they saw what had happened and waited to see what would happen next. Ino immediately saw the headlines that would float around Konoha for a while, 'Headline: Naruto Uzumaki lands a kiss with the Hyūga princess, Hinata Hyūga!'

The worst part that no one knew was that Naruto had his mask down, but covered up with a seal that made it look like a genjutsu. In other words…Naruto's actual lips had connected with Hinata's and both felt the real thing. There was similar thought that went through both of their minds and it went a little like…

'I'm…kissing Hinata-chan. I'm. Kissing. Hinata-chan. I'M KISSING HINATA-CHAN! THIS IS BAD, THIS IS BAD…WHAT WILL SHE THINK WHEN SHE REALIZES THAT I STOLE HER FIRST KISS!? THEN THERE'S HE FATHER!'

'Naruto-kun…is kissing me. Naruto-kun. Is kissing. Me. NARTUO-KUN IS KISSING ME! THIS FEELS WONDERFUL…I WONDER IF HE KNOWS IF THIS WAS MY FIRST KISS!? I should tell Otousan about this…'

Naruto and Hinata were both a new shade of red and embarrassed/overjoyed at the position that they were. Neither could really move nor say anything to each other…mainly because they didn't know what to say to each other. This was also the scene that Tsubaki, Mizuki's ex-lover/Iruka's current lover, walked into when she entered the classroom.

"*Clears throat* Is there something wrong with those two? If not could we all go to our seats?" Everyone immediately dispersed and went to their seats, with Naruto helping Hinata to hers; both giving a long glare/glace towards Kiba's direction and promising pain/thank you at another time. When everyone sat down Tsubaki looked at the files and the teams that were created.

"Excuse me miss, but where is Iruka-sensei?" Tsubaki looked up and stared at a certain pink haired menace, whose mother yelled at her just 5 minutes earlier.

"Iruka-kun is in the hospital for an injury that he acquired last night in a fight with Mizuki-teme. Mizuki was also removed from the Ninja Corps and had his chakra pathways sealed permanently making him unable to be a shinobi for the rest of his life. I'm here to fill in for Iruka and tell you what your teams will be before you meet your sensei. My name it Tsubaki…you don't need to know my last name. Now…"

Everyone stiffened a little, even Naruto, when Tsubaki leveled a glare at the entire class.

"…I won't sugar coat this like your sensei…You are risking your life and wellbeing for the safety of this village. Death is always a factor in missions and many of you will likely die in one. Being a ninja isn't a game…its real life and you only get one chance to prove yourself worthy to the ninja world. One slip-up and it could be your last; no one lives forever so you better live life like it was your last from now on. You are no longer children or civilians under the protection of Konohagakure…you are now its sword and shield that will protect those that live in this village." Everyone simultaneously gulped at once before Tsubaki smiled. "Now…listen up to your team and your teammates, I will not repeat my self. Alright Team 1…"

'I think I should go see Ojii-san when I get my team assignment…maybe he can tell me everything…'

'That's a good idea Musuko…Hiruzen never let us down before…'

'I agree; the old man never me down when I trusted him with a task.'

'Huh!? Kaa-chan…Tou-chan is that you?'

'Of course musuko…since you've entered your mindscape and accessed the seal on your stomach, we've been able to see and hear what you do. We can also talk to you through your mind. Now listen up your team might be next. Good catch with that Hinata girl, by the way' Naruto simply blushed and looked down

'H-hai…'

"…Alright, next is Team 6 will consist of Tsuya Yoshano, Yonaka Kenshi, and Sakyū no Hanaichige. Your sensei will be Aoba Yamashiro. Team Seven will have Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha…" every girl tensed at this…being in the team of two, I repeat TWO of the top rookies is something that had every girl on the edge of their seat. Both Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other and smirked with one thought in both of their minds, 'Please don't put Haruno on our team…' "…and Sakura Haruno. Your Sensei will be Kakashi Hatake."

Tsubaki looked up when almost every one of the girls except Sakura, who shouted in joy, groaned. Ino and Hinata had the reasonable excuse to groan louder that everyone else. Naruto and Sasuke groaned because of their now useless teammate. The other boys in the class were happy that they were rid of the screaming banshee known as Sakura Haruno.

"Enough! Now…Team Eight will have Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyūga, and Kiba Inuzuka. Your team sensei will be Kurenai Yūhi. Team nine is under discussion and be held back until a sensei is chosen for them, so Team Ten will have Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chōji Akimichi. Your Sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi. Now everyone will have from now until the end of lunch to eat and get your teammates better am I clear?" Everyone nodded and waited for Tsubaki's approval. "Dismissed."

- Academy [Rooftop] -

Sitting with, almost, everyone that he likes, Naruto was passing around a bento to each of his friends and his teammates. Since everyone pretty much knew who everyone else was, there was no need to 'get to know' each other. Ino, Shikamaru, and Chōji were all friends before since their dads kept them together, especially Shikamaru and Chōji. Kiba knew Shino because his mom was on the same team as his dad was, and Hinata's mother used to be friends with them before she passed on.

Naruto and Sasuke knew each other because of their little rivalry, their parents, and their 'special bond' no one could break between them. When Itachi murdered almost his entire clan, Naruto was there and gave a hand to Sasuke so he wouldn't fall into darkness like Itachi wanted him to. Ino and Sakura were best friends until Sasuke came into the picture and Hinata was friends with Naruto and Sasuke when they first entered the Academy.

The funny thing about Naruto was no matter how much you knew about him, no one ever fully understood him. Sasuke and Hinata were the closest, but even they didn't know who his mother was. Simply because Naruto wore a Kitsune mask around on his face around her and that Anko never really dropped him off at the Academy when he went there. It was usually Taki, the ANBU, Kurenai or Ayame that was with him and his sister when they came to the academy.

"Hey Naruto…" Naruto looked at Ino that was chewing on thin piece of meat. "…do you know anything about our sensei?" Ino was now eating a lot more and dropped that diet she was on because Naruto and Sasuke encouraged her to do it…hell when they said the she would lose it all when she train and that Sasuke like some girls that aren't sticks, that was enough to convince her to eat like a normal person.

"Yeah I do…Kurenai Yūhi is a Genjutsu expert. She'll likely test you in dispelling them or learning about them a bit more to cast them. She's Konoha's 'Genjutsu Mistress'. She's also very commanding so when she gives an order, I suggest that you follow them…unless you like to live in a fantasy-slash-nightmare for a while." Kiba, Hinata, and Shino all nodded at this a continued eating, thankful that they 'forgot' their lunches today. Naruto turned to the Ino-Shika- Chō trio and gave them a quick run-down of Asuma.

"Asuma Sarutobi is a chain-smoker and the son of the Sandaime; he'll likely have each of you learn more about your clan and their techniques to and improve on those. Also he uses Trench Knives, loves to play shōgi and was a part of the Guardian Twelve for the Fire Daimyo back in the day." Team 10 was surprised about this information. Shikamaru knew that Asuma loved to play shōgi, but didn't expect to be taught by one of the Guardian Twelve.

"Naruto, what about Kakashi Hatake…any information on him?" Naruto just let out a big sigh, if listened closely; one could tell there was some disappointment in it.

"Yeah…Kakashi-oji-san is…complicated to sum him all up in one. He loves to read that _Icha Icha _that he has in his back pouch and will let out a perverted giggle now and then. He's constantly late to a lot of things and is extremely strict about certain things, mainly things about his past. He's the son of Konoha's White Fang and knows over 1000 different Jutsu. He's also is the holder of a nin-ken summoning contract and will not hesitate to kill if it can't be avoided. The pervert is practically a legend among many shinobi in Konoha; like the 'Three Great Sannin'." Everyone looked at Naruto and momentarily stopped eating to stare at him. Everyone had different thoughts on Team 7's Sensei.

'Troublesome as always Naruto, even you sensei is like that.'

'Sasuke-kun will be trained under a legend?'

'That guy sounds like he wouldn't let me eat often.'

'Sensei should know that my mom is a council woman.'

'So…Kakashi may help me with my goal.'

'Please don't do anything stupid Oji-san'

'Naruto-kun will become stronger under Kakashi-san's teachings'

'It seems that Team 7 is likely the most rounded and strongest team out of all of us…Kakashi would be a perfect choice for them.'

'So they get a legend and we get Genjutsu...perfect at least Naruto has his…wait did he say that Kakashi Hatake was…'

"Kakashi Hatake is your uncle!?" Everyone sweat-dropped or face-faulted when Kiba shouted out his question, then they also noticed what Naruto said earlier. Naruto only looked up to see that he had everyone staring at him intensely.

"What?"

"How do you have, a legend of a shinobi as your uncle?! Everyone knows that a legend should the uncle of Sasuke-kun, not a baka like you!" Naruto cleaned his ear comically and stared at Sakura for a moment before turning to everyone else. Everyone else, besides Sasuke, looked at the Naruto with a look of sympathy.

"What? Kaa-san is treated like a younger sister from him. When she adopted me and my sister, Kakashi treated us like his niece and nephew. Besides, you all act like he was something that I'm taking for granted." Naruto looked at all of them and looked at the sky before he looked down and started to stand up. "Well, it looks like lunch is almost over…we should get back to class so Tsubaki-sensei doesn't yell at us." Everyone nodded and began to pack up 'their' lunches and headed inside.

- Academy (Iruka's Homeroom) -

Everyone was sitting in their desk and talking amongst each other when the door opened. Turning to see who it was all the boys and Kiba, except those who Naruto and his enforcement of **not** being a pervert around him, shot out of their seats from nose bleeds. The girls had theirs eyes glued on a small fox that was being carried instead of the woman that had the attire that mixed both 'Sexy' and 'Kunoichi' together perfectly.

In the doorway stood, Anko in her new attire, thanks to Naruto making it for her when she begged him to. She still had her tan overcoat, but now her mesh suit was mostly a tan tube top with the mesh on the top that covered what the tank top didn't, her orange mini-skirt was now a little longer and colored black, an orange sweater was wrapped around her waist, and her sandals were now tactical boots that still had the shin-guards on.

The other was Fū, who had no changes to her attire; but she was holding a small red fox in her arms that caught most of the girls' attention. The only exception, which was alright, was Sakura. Many of the girls had a sparkle in their eyes when they saw the fox. Naruto, having read Anko's note of the headband sealing his goggles, unsealed said goggles and placed them over his face in a pathetic attempt to hide.

While everyone was staring at the duo in the door, they missed the sensei of Team 1 walk in with her sense of authority. Looking over everyone she decided to not waste her and just call her team so she could leave. The fact that Anko was standing near her had nothing to do with it…nope nothing at all.

"Team 1 on me now!" The woman was strict so no bothered to protest and three Genin were leaving. Having them leave, Anko smirked when Naruto's head shrunk lower behind his desk. A different thought went through both of their minds at the same time.

'This is going to be fun…and I'll have so much fun with Naruto-chan and his friends…I'm sure their parents won't mind me doing so…'

'Forget about Kakashi…I just hope Kaa-san will let me live without anything humiliating happening.'

A/N: Another Chapter done. The next is the meeting of the teachers and the Start of Kakashi's Test. Also if you're wondering about Anko's clothes then look up Jill Valentine from Resident Evil three and recolor it with Anko's own style over and mixed with it. Also I came up with an idea for a story that I might also turn into a challenge later.


	19. Explanations

A/N: This chapter meets the teachers and some needed explanations.

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking'  
_Flashbacks/Mindscape_  
"Jutsu/Technique"  
**"Demon/Summon Talking"**

- Academy (Iruka's Homeroom) -

Naruto was many things, but at the moment he was extremely embarrassed. The reason can be seen if one looked back about 2 hours ago when Anko had entered the class and spun head with her clothes.

_- Academy {2 Hours Earlier} -_

_When Team 1 left in a hurry, Anko smirked when Naruto's head shrunk lower behind his desk. A different thought went through both of their minds at the same time._

'_This is going to be fun…and I'll have so much fun with Naruto-chan and his friends…I'm sure their parents won't mind me doing so…'_

'_Forget about Kakashi…I just hope Kaa-san will let me live without anything humiliating happening.'_

_Unfortunately, Naruto's prayers would go unanswered as Anko began to walk up the steps, stopped next to Naruto, and take a seat next to him. Naruto tried to hide even further under his desk and stopped when he felt a hand placed on his shoulder. Looking up to see who it was Naruto mentally sighed when he saw Anko still there with a smile that shouted __**'Danger! Danger! Embarrassment incoming!'**__ Naruto closed his eyes behind his goggles and sent a silent prayer that again went to deaf ears._

'_Please let this be a genjutsu…or even better a dream!' Anko saw how Naruto's face slightly twitched and her smile went into evil smirk. Leaning closer Anko waited until she saw the muscles in Naruto's face relaxed and slowly slid Naruto's goggles off his eyes and over his headband. When Naruto opened his eyes, he had to put a lot of effort not to jump and let out a high pitched yelp. It was when Anko spoke in a sweetened tone that he knew something bad was going to happen._

"_Now Naru-chan…why are you hiding from me? Did I do something wrong?" Naruto shook his head in a quicken response and waited as sweat beads were forming on his head. What Anko said next made Naruto's face go to a whole new level of red, which put everything Hinata did to shame. "Do you need Kyu-chan again? I know how you love that small fox doll in your room." Every kid in the classroom started to cover up their laughs in constant failure. Naruto looked around tried to pretend that he was invisible to everyone else. Anko saw this and added more to Naruto's embarrassment. "Now now Naru-chan…I'm not going to pretend that you're invisible again when you're playing ninja." Naruto couldn't take it and exploded when the entire class, including Sasuke and Tsubaki, laughed at Naruto and his extremely red face._

"_KAA-SAN!" At this the entire class went dead silent and stared at the duo in complete shock. This Kunoichi that was messing with Naruto was actually his mom. Kiba immediately paled when he recognized who Anko was, seeing as she constantly visited his own mom. Naruto not taking the embarrassment quickly sealed up is goggles and unsealed his ANBU mask to replace it on his face. Anko couldn't help but take one more jab at her son; so she quickly placed her hands on the sides of his head and gripped the parts of the clothed mask, that hid his whisker marks, and yanked it down. Then Anko snaked a hand under his actual mask and started to scratch said whisker marks._

_Naruto was in pure bliss when Anko started to scratch his whisker marks and couldn't help but let out a purr in appreciation. Eventually Anko hit the sweet-spot and made Naruto collapse forward and go unconscious as his head rested on the desk. When Naruto woke up the fox that F__ū was holding was licking his face along with Akamaru; when he looked around the room he noticed that a majority of the students left and only Teams 7, 8 and 9 were left along with Asuma and Kurenai who were talking to Anko._

- Academy {Present time} -

Fū was currently talking with a blushing Shino about his hive of insects, Sasuke and Ino were talking about her habits and things that Sasuke wanted her to drop, Kiba and Hinata were looking over the fox that was playing with Akamaru, everyone else was simply talking or sleeping and the adults were discussing something in front of the class.

Naruto was currently sitting on his desk in a meditative state to try to calm his embarrassment. In the process he was able to talk about his real parents…well his real mother since Kyūbi was currently hugging his blushing and stunned father.

'Kaa-chan what do you know about our bloodline?'

'Huh? You mean you already unlocked Sējigan? When? Where?'

'I activated it when Anko-Kaa-san let me stay in her house and slept with her.'

'SHE WHAT!?'

'Uh...she let me sleep in the same bed that she was in. I was also six-years old at the time.'

'*sigh* Oh that's a relief…I don't what I would do it she took away your innocence at such an early age…'

'So…do you know anything about it? I just recently opened the sight of water. I also opened the sight of fire and wind.'

'Really!? Naruto-kun what is you natural elemental affinity?'

'Wind…Why? Do you think that it's the one thing that makes me control the water with ease compared to the fire sight.'

'Well Musuko, I was actually born with two affinities. One to wind and one to water; your father was born with wind and lightning based affinities. It seems that because I had an affinity to water…you gained some of it when you were born so you could control water easier that of fire but not as much as wind since both your father and I had wind affinities. I also think that it's the same reason that you learned the lightning based Kenjutsu style easier with your father's affinity to lightning being passed on to you. To answer you I think that when you sleep or meditating I could help train you in learning and controlling our clan bloodline along with your father teaching you his signature Jutsus: 'The Rasengan' and 'The Hiraishin' and my 'Chakra Chains' in time.'

'Okay…so when should I talk to Ojii-san and Anko-Kaa-san about this? And when do I tell them about me knowing and seeing you, Tou-chan, and Kyūbi-chan along with my heritage?'

'I think that you should talk to him as soon as possible…here let me check something.' Naruto waited a bit and heard his father struggle to get the fan-girl of a tailed beast to let go of his leg. His mom came back and tried to explain what she did.

'Kaa-chan what happened?'

'It's okay Musuko. I just went into you memory and implanted a jutsu, just like the Shinigami did. This jutsu helped me and should convince the old man to believe you if he doesn't at first.' Naruto focused his mind and soon saw the hand signs that his mother did and the name of the jutsu that she gave him. 'Since I went to deeper into your mind; I was able to perform this jutsu and had it placed it your memory so you could use it. This jutsu is called, 'Uzumaki Art: Gathering Minds Jutsu'. It allows everyone in the room or in the area you want to enter your mindscape and interact with us here as if we were really in the room…this isn't a Genjutsu so nothing and no one can dispel it except you. It's just like that jutsu that the Shinigami taught you …remember?' Naruto nodded…how could he not? The Death God looked at him face-to-face and implanted the most notorious jutsu, that many would kill for, in his mind.

'Okay Kaa-chan…I think Kakashi-Oji-san is coming so I'll see the Ojii-san with Anko-Kaa-san after I meet him. Good-bye Kaa-chan…I love you.'

'I love you too musuko, bye.' Naruto opened his eyes just in time to see Kiba place an eraser over the top of the door and walk back to his seat.

"What are doing Kiba?"

"What? It serves your sensei right for making all of us wait for so damn long." Just then the door opened and the eraser fell on top of one Kakashi Hatake's head. Needless to say everyone sweat-dropped, except Kiba who was laughing his ass off, and watched what Kakashi would would do first. Closing his book Kakashi looked at the class room and saw all the students, but missed Anko, Asuma, Kurenai and Tsubaki.

"My first impression of all of you is that I hate you; now Team 7 report to the rooftop ASAP." At this Kakashi opened his book only for it to fly out of his hand and get embedded into the wall with a kunai in it. Looking around to see who would dare defile the name _Icha Icha_ Kakashi paled when he saw Anko with her arm stretched out indicating that she was the one that threw the Kunai. Kakashi also finally noticed Asuma, Kurenai, and Tsubaki looking at him from behind Anko, all shaking their heads in sympathy.

"Sorry Kakashi-nii…what was your first impression of my son? I didn't get to hear you." Kakashi paled even more that it put Orochimaru's skin to shame and took a step back.

"W-what are y-you doing h-here A-Anko?" Anko smirked at Kakashi's nervousness and walked forward and took out the kunai that was embedded in to wall with Kakashi's book.

"Well…I was just in the neighborhood and decided to pay a visit to my son's school and see who his Sensei was. Imagine my surprise when I found out my nii-san was going to continue to teach him." Anko leaned forward and whispered into Kakashi's ear so that no one else could here her. "I'm going to say this once Kakashi, stop aching over the past and look for future…Naruto is going to need you to focus and watch out for him and his friends. I don't want to hear from him that you were more that ten minutes late to a team meeting or else…" Anko leaned back and walked over to where Naruto and Fū were sitting and simply leaned on the desk. Kakashi looked over to Asuma and Kurenai who both shrugged their shoulders

"*Sigh* I'm going to guess that you wanted something Anko." Anko nodded. "Would please enlighten us on why you're here and not with Ibiki?"

"Yeah…it's about Team 7's Survival Test…Asuma, Kurenai…you're both going to be included in it. These are orders from the Hokage himself…so no exception or excuses." Everyone looked at Anko that was until Sakura asked a question.

"Wait, what Survival Test?" Kakashi just sighed and was about to answer, until Naruto did for him.

"It's a test to see if we're ready to become actual shinobi. The test we took here were only to see if we have the needed basics to start being a Genin. Our sensei is to meet us at a designated time and area and test our skills to see if we're ready. The thing is…this test only has a '33%' passing rate so everyone needs to be prepared because our all of our sensei won't go easy on us." Sakura paled at this while everyone else became a little nervous.

"Naruto is correct, Pinky; but before we get ahead of ourselves, go to your sensei let's do some introductions. Tell us your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies and goals in life" Sasuke spoke up after he managed to get Ino of his lap and get with his team in one part of the room while she went to hers on the other side.

"You think you demonstrate for us Sensei?"

"Sure…My name is Kakashi Hatake, my likes are training among other things, I dislike anyone who abandon their teammates, my hobbies are reading and training, and my goal…well I guess I don't have any at the moment." Sasuke and Naruto accepted that, but Sakura seemed like she wanted more. "Alright then, Naruto you're next."

"Okay…My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like Training, my family, drawing, and gardening, I dislike bullies, fan-girls, and people who think their superior than others, My goal is have a family and protect those precious to me." Kakashi nodded at that and turned to Sasuke.

"Alright…next, Uchiha…"

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I like Training, my family, and having friends like Naruto, I dislike people who betray those closest to them, my goal…is to find a certain person and find closure with him…also to raise a family with Ino-chan." Sakura was fuming at the mention of Ino and even more when Sasuke mentioned having a family with her. Naruto just nodded at Sasuke's introduction along with Kakashi.

'Fugaku-sama…Mikoto-sama…it seems that Naruto made him change drastically and turned him away from revenge...that's good.' "Alright, next up is pinky…" Sakura became mad at that but continued.

"My name Sakura Haruno my likes are…" Sakura glanced towards Sasuke, who scoffed, "…My dislikes are Ino-pig and Naruto-baka…" Naruto narrowed his eyes but just dropped it, "…And my goal is to prove to Sasuke-kun that I'm better that Ino-pig." Kakashi let out another sigh and looked over his team.

'So…I have two best friends and a fan-girl…great' Kakashi looked over his team again and nodded to himself. "Alright…now remember, Training Ground Nine at Five A.M. Also…I suggest that you don't eat breakfast…Unless you want to puke." With that Kakashi and the other Jōnin vanished in a swirl of leaves. Naruto immediately said good-bye to his team and walked up to his mom.

"Kaa-san…can we go see Ojii-san? I need to talk to him and you about something." Anko looked at Naruto and nodded before she called Fū over and said to stay with Shino, Sasuke, and Hinata, since those three treated her like a sister of their own. When Fū left she said that she would be waiting at Hinata's Clan Compound, before Naruto and Anko went to see the Sandaime.

- Hokage's Office -

Hiruzen was doing paper work when his office doors burst open and Anko, with Naruto, walked in. Hiruzen looked at the two as they sat down and Hiruzen shooed away the furious secretary at the doorway. Looking back at the mother and child, Hiruzen knew that it would involve some amount of paperwork for him to use so he called for some tea to be delivered to them.

"What can I do for you two today? Also, congratulations on becoming a Genin, Naruto-kun." Naruto nodded while Anko took out a scroll and laid it Hiruzen's desk. Getting a raised eyebrow, Anko decided to explain what the scroll was and why she had it.

"That's the list of weapons that I want on Naruto's ninja license, seeing as it needs to be on there for him to use them during missions. Also Naruto wanted to talk to both of us about something…he says it's important." Anko took the tea that was handed to her and began to sip is slowly; unfortunately she was about to pull the same actions that happened when she first talked to Hiashi about Naruto's marriage.

"I want to talk about The Yondaime Hokage and Konoha's Red Death…my real parents…" Hiruzen and Anko both went wide eyed at this and swallowed the boiling tea that they were drinking. Anko quickly did the handsigns that Fugaku showed her and placed her hand on her throat to cool it down. Hiruzen did the same, but he also shot a glare at Anko in assumption that she told Naruto.

"Anko…" Anko for her part held up her hands in defense.

"Don't look at me I kept my mouth sealed the whole time. He must have heard it from someone else because I didn't say jack shi-" Naruto held up his hand to stop Anko, also to make sure that Kushina didn't hear how she talked around him. Sure he was used to it, his actual mom didn't know and he wants to keep it like that for as long as he could.

"No one told me anything. I met them…and the Kyūbi last night." Now Hiruzen and Anko were interested.

"Care to explain Naruto-kun?" Naruto nodded and took a deep breath, but looked around the room and at Hiruzen that took the hint. "ANBU…please leave the room. Please continue Naruto-kun." Naruto nodded and took another deep breath.

_- Flashback (Within the Seal) -_

_Naruto was staring at a crazy red-head, a hurting blonde, and a giant ass fox behind a cage. He didn't know what was happening or where he was so he asked on question to get his bearings._

"_W-who are you?" Kushina looked up and gave another warm smile before she spoke._

"_Well, I guess you wouldn't recognize us since we've only had you for a day…my name is Kushina Uzumaki, and this is my husband Minato Namikaze…we're your parents Naruto-chan."_

_Silence._

_That was the only thing that was heard for about five minutes, Naruto for his part was shocked beyond words; you couldn't blame him, standing in front of him was a man and lady that were claiming to be his parents. Both said to have died the day he was born and left him to be taken by the Fourth and be sealed with the Kyūbi._

"_M-my parents?" Kushina nodded, while Naruto shook his head earning a frown from Kushina and Minato. "M-my p-parents died…in the K-Kyūbi attack t-twelve years a-ago…you ca-can't be them. They left me alone for six years! M-my parents wouldn't do that and then show up out of nowhere!" Naruto started crying as he took another step back and held the fox in his arms a little tighter as it growled at the two._

"_Naruto-chan…" Kushina took a step to her son, but stopped when he exploded on her._

"_NO! YOU __**AREN'T**__ MY KAA-CHAN! MY KAA-CHAN __**DIED**__ WHEN I WAS BORN! ANKO-KAA-__**SAN**__ TAKES CARE OF ME NOW!" Kushina flinched when Naruto yelled at her, but she accepted the fact that she failed her son and let some tears fall. Minato walked up to them and placed a hand on Kushina's shoulder before he walked up to Naruto and enveloped him in a hug. This surprised Naruto who was still crying, but he felt something that he only felt when he was with Anko or Fū: safety and warmth. "Why…"_

_Minato tightened his grip on Naruto and began to shake as he silently cried. Kushina walked up to both of them and joined in the moment and let her tears fall freely as she rested her head against Naruto's and began to mumble out apologizes for leaving him alone for so long. The fox in Naruto's arms managed to slip out and walk over to Kyūbi's cage and sat there obediently until the family sorted everything out._

'_**The fabled 'curse' of the Uzumaki Clan…forced to, at any point in life, to choose what is better: to save a child with the loss of parents and safety or loss of a child that needed safety and family. I truly hope that both Kio-chan and Mito-chan were right about this stopping with a descendant at any point.'**_

_The family stayed like that for who knows how long until they let go of each other. Naruto was still crying, but not as much since his eyes were red and puffy. Looking up Naruto asked the same question that he asked before._

"_Why?" getting a confused look from his parents Naruto rephrased what he said._

"_Why did you seal Kyūbi within me? What did I have to gain from that?" Minato simply placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and smiled a little._

"_Musuko…the reason I chose you is because of something that happened on the night of your birth."_

"_When I was born?"_

"_Yes... it was because-"Minato didn't get to finish before a bright light appeared in front the only exit. Kyūbi was slightly shifting in his cage, knowing what or more importantly, who was coming. Stepping out of the light was the Death God, the Shinigami himself. Joining him were the exact copies of Minato and Kushina that had a more ghostly figure to them. Kushina gasped a little and kneeled, with Minato, at the presence of the Death God._

"_Shinigami-Sama…Why are you here?"_

"_**Stand Minato-san…Kushina-chan."**__ Following their orders both parents stood and looked at their ghostly counter-parts. The Death God simply stared at the two until his gaze shifted over to Naruto. __**"So Minato…this is your son?"**_

"_Yes."_

"_**I see he takes after his father's looks."**__ Looking at the parents again the Shinigami explained why he was there. **"Minato, Kushina…I am here to give you both a second chance at living with your son."** Both parents gasped while Naruto went wide-eyed. __**"These two with me are your souls that I have personally received from the afterlife. Minato I took extra care in extracting yours from within me. I will keep a majority of your souls with me personally, but I will let a bit stay here within the seal."**__ At this the silent figures started to fade a little as color went to Minato and Kushina's skin. While this was happening the Shinigami walked over to Naruto and stared at the boy face-to-face._

"_Uh…"_

**"…"**

"…"

**"…**_**Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze…"**_

"_Yes?"_

"_**Do you love those precious to you?**_

"_Yes."_

"_**If you could, would you be willing to bring others back and join those who love them in the living world?" **__Naruto went wide eyed and nodded. __**"Very well…"**__ The Shinigami turned away and walked down a corridor before he disappeared. While Naruto waited, he looked over to his parents who were watching him. The Shinigami came back and pulled out a blade and presented it to Naruto; Kushina's eyes widened in amazement at seeing the blade that not only she used to wield, but also Mito Uzumaki and her own mother before she came over from Uzugakure.__** "Naruto, this blade is called the 'Divine Blade of Death'. I grant you permission to wield this blade and help purge the world of evil; with this blade, you will be able to tell if one's soul is tainted and if can be cleansed or must be 'set free'. I have also placed a Jutsu within your mind that will allow you to bring back ones that are missed and killed by accident; The Jutsu is called '**__**Kami's Will: Pure Soul Resurrection.'**__** Use it well and learn how to use your sights; with enough control this Jutsu will eventually free your parents again; cleanse the world of taint and corruption…Can you promise me that you will do your best?"**_

"_Hai. Shinigami-sama, I promise to protect those that are precious to me and to cleanse the world." Naruto kneeled and spoke like Toki had taught him to in front of superiors. Looking up the Shinigami bowed slowly with Naruto following his actions._

"_**I believe in you Naruto-san…I will take my leave."**__ The Shinigami walked into the light and disappeared. Naruto looked at the blade in his hand and thought about replacing one of his other Kodachi with it. Naruto turned around and ran up to his parents and was enveloped in another hug. That was when Kyūbi made his presence known again, by growling from behind his cage. Naruto for one was not scared of seeing him and instead just waved at the legendary Tailed-Beast._

"_**Now that everything was taken care of…how about we strike a deal kit?"**__ Naruto looked at the fox and cocked his head to the side and studied him. What he said next made everyone face-fault…_

"_What do you have in mind Kyūbi...chan?" Kyūbi got up and roared while getting ready to attack from behind the cage._

"_**YOU LITTLE RUNT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAD WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO? I'M THE MOST FEARED DEMON IN THE WORLD. I'M AN OMEN TO HUMAN AND A SAVIOUR TO DEMONS! I'M…"**_

"…_A Vixen. Trust me; it's not that hard to see that I'm talking to a female." Kyūbi lowered his head and glared at Naruto._

"_**What makes you think that I, the world most feared Demon, am a vixen?"**_

'_Well first off is the way you exploded in anger when I called you 'Kyūbi-chan'."_

"_**Runt…of course I'm going to explode. You just called a male a female."**_

"_True…but Kaa-chan called me 'Naruto-chan' and I didn't mind. From what I learned from living with two females for six years of my life it's that; if you anger a females pride then they will get extremely offensive; something you did by just getting ready to fight when you got insulted. Another thing is that I've studied foxes, both male and female, with an Inuzuka; so I know that just by standing there with your tails and rear a little higher than your head…you're a girl." Kushina and Minato looked at Naruto and Kyūbi with shock…their son just proved that a male was acting like a total...'Bitch' as an Inuzuka would say. It was the next thing said that blew them away…_

"_**Damn…I didn't think anyone but Kio-chan would figure that out…"**__ Both parents were blown back at the revelation, The Kyūbi no Kitsune was actually__ The Kyūbi no_ Vixen! Everyone watched as the fox started to dissolve into nothing and in its place stood a stunning 25 year old look woman with crimson hair that outmatched Kushina's. _**"Alright kit…now that you've figured out one of the greatest secret in the Demon World…How about that deal? By the way…my real name is Kurama…something that the Sage of the Six Paths let me pick personally."**__ Naruto just nodded and was introduced to the fox that he found and was told that it would meet him in the real world and be his and their eyes to the outside from time to time._

_-Flashback End-_

Hiruzen and Anko were shocked beyond belief at everything that was told to them by Naruto. Hiruzen was the first to snap out his shock and look at Naruto, who was currently holding a blade that was black, but had 'Cleanse' carved on one side of the blade and 'Condemn' carved on the other side.

"Naruto-kun…is that the blade that you spoke of?" Naruto nodded and held it up to show it off to the two in front of him. Looking it over, Naruto spoke up.

"So…what do we do about my parent's house and my heritage? I know that the council would likely have me put in the CRA for hearing this, but until then…what do we do?" Hiruzen brought out his pipe and light it taking puffs until it hit him.

"We'll simply not tell them until you reach the rank of Chūnin like you were supposed to before any of this happened. Anko…do you approve that you'll let your son partake in the Chūnin Exams and host the second part of the Exams." Anko thought about it and nodded in approval.

'Naruto-kun I want you to use that Jutsu and show them since you're telling them everything.' Naruto mentally nodded and began to do the hand signs while Anko and Hiruzen were going over the plans. When he finished he slammed his hand on the desk surprising both the adults.

"Uzumaki Art: Gathering Mind Jutsu!" At this the seal that was on Naruto's stomach started to expand and cover his body before it is reached the place where his hand was and began to cover everything over and made the room turn into a sewer. Looking around Hiruzen and Anko's eyes caught the sight of Naruto…with two redheaded women and a tall blonde that looked like a grown up version of him. The taller blonde noticed that Hiruzen and Anko staring at them and began to walk over to them with everyone else.

"Hello Sarutobi…nice to see you again." Both adult knew that today was going to a long one so they both sat down.

- Hokage Office {3 Hours Later} -

Hiruzen and Anko were tired, but what they learned was worth it. Hiruzen got to explain Naruto's life and eventual adoption; while Anko got to meet one of her idols, Kushina Uzumaki, 'Konoha's Red Death' an expert Torturer and Interrogator.

Naruto got to explain everything else about the seal and his abilities and was informed that others would be watching his team's test to see if it was overbalanced and would need to be changed. Overall today was a great day for everyone.

- The Next Day -

On training ground 9 stood Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, and Kurenai Yūhi. Kakashi took out 6 bells out and passed two to the other Jōnin. Kakashi had his around his waist, Asuma, around each of his wrists, and Kurenai went a little daring and placed them over each of her breasts.

"Okay…this test is to see if your ready to be Genin. Your objective is to get a bell from all three of us. Come at us with the intent to kill or you won't stand a chance. If you don't get a bell by Eight A.M. then you fail. Ready?" All three Genin got into ready positions and nodded. "Go!" All three disappeared and left three Jōnin standing in the middle of the field. Asuma chuckled looked around when Kakashi took out a certain little orange book.

"So…Kakashi, any target in particular?"

"The Uchiha…" Asuma nodded

"Kurenai-kio?"

"Haruno…" Another nod

"That leaves me with Anko's kid…perfect. *Sigh* Well I better get going see ya in three hours." Asuma disappeared in a swirl of leaves. 5 minutes later Kurenai then disappeared within Sakura pedals, and Kakashi stood still.

'This is going to be fun…'

A/N: Another Chapter done. Also I your going to complain about the teams then stop…there is a reason I left them canon so don't complain about it. After the Wave Arc they'll change a little bit. I also added things about Kushina that aren't true so don't bring it up. Also...still wondering anyone would accept my challenge on my profile page. Just another chapter or two until the polls close.


	20. Pass or Fail?

A/N: This chapter is Kakashi's Test and the results.

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking'  
_Flashbacks/Mindscape_  
"Jutsu/Technique"**  
**

- Chūnin Exams Tower {4 A.M.} -

Naruto was walking to the kitchen when he smelled Bacon, Eggs, and…Ramen? Looking around the corner, Naruto saw Anko placing a plate of bacon on the table and turn towards him.

"Eat up gaki; you're going to need the energy in about an hour." Naruto took a seat and just looked at the plate in front of him.

"But…Kakashi-sensei told me not to eat breakfast or else I'll just puke during the test." Anko just scoffed and pushed the plate forward.

"What did he always tell you when he gave you a puzzle or a riddle?" Naruto took a sip of orange juice and thought for a second.

"He always said, 'Look underneath the underneath'." Anko nodded and pushed further. She couldn't blame Naruto…mornings were just not for her family, but atleast Naruto was usually the sharpest at those times compared to her or Fu.

"So…what do you think that means?" Naruto thought about it while he ate.

"Kakashi-sensei wants me to be more focused on something else, like eating, so that I could fail his test?" Anko nodded and knelt down to Naruto's face and gave him a quick peck on the cheeks.

"Exactly…now hurry up and eat, when you finish go get ready and we'll to the training ground. I'm sure Kumai won't mind watching Fū for a while." Naruto nodded and started to eat a little faster while Anko walked to her bathroom and got ready.

- Uchiha Compound {4:05 A.M.} -

Sasuke was waking up and walking to the kitchen when he smelled Bacon, Eggs, and…Tomatoes? Looking around the corner, Sasuke saw Mikoto placing a plate of bacon on the table and turn towards him.

"Eat up Musuko; you're going to need the energy in about an hour." Sasuke took a seat and just looked at the plate in front of him.

"But…Kakashi-sensei told me not to eat breakfast or…I'll just throw-up during the test." Mikoto let out scoff and pushed the plate of food forward to her son.

"Kakashi always gave Naruto a puzzle or riddle…and you know what he would always say?" Sasuke took a bite out of the tomato slices and thought for a second.

"Naruto said he always said, 'Look underneath the underneath'." Mikoto nodded and pushed further. She couldn't blame Sasuke…mornings were just not for her or him, but atleast Sasuke was usually the sharpest out of the two at those times.

"…what do think that means Sasuke?" Sasuke thought about it while he ate.

"Kakashi-sensei wants me to be more focused on something else, like hunger, so that I could fail his test?" Mikoto nodded and knelt down to Sasuke's face and gave him a quick kiss on his forehead.

"Correct…now hurry up and eat, when you're done, go get ready and your father and I will take you to the training ground." Sasuke nodded and started to eat a little faster while Mikoto walked to the bathroom and got ready.

- Sakura's house {4:30 A.M.} -

"SAKURA! YOU GET UP THIS INSTANT AND GET READY!" That the only thing that was heard throughout the house. Sakura for her part got up and went to the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat. She just got more tired when she saw that there was nothing to eat or cook. Her mother was drinking a cup of coffee at the table and ignored her daughter's groaning.

"Mom? Where is Breakfast?" Mebuki scoffed and looked up.

"You said it yourself…you aren't allowed to eat this morning because you might throw-up all my precious cooking while testing." Sakura just let out another groan and looked at the clock and saw that it was 4:40. Letting out a shriek of shock Sakura ran up to her room and got ready. Her 'Inner Sakura' was raising her fist to the air.

'**Cha! I need to get to the Training Ground to prove to Sasuke-kun that I'm better than Ino-pig!"** Needless to say Sakura didn't get any breakfast and was not going to be in top shape.

- Training Ground 9 {5:07 A.M.} -

On training ground 9 stood Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno all of them tired, but one of them was also hungry. After 7 minutes of looking over to the two boys, Sakura saw that they were actually resting and leaning on the posts with their eyes closed. She was just about to copy what they were doing, but three swirls of leaves stopped her. Out stepped Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, and Kurenai Yūhi. There was a reason for picking this location and it suit everyone there.

"Sorry were late, but breakfast just tried too fast for us catch." Everyone sweat-dropped at the excuse used, but didn't say anything. Kakashi took out 6 bells out and passed two to the other Jōnin. Kakashi had his around his waist, Asuma, around each of his wrists, and Kurenai placed them over each of her breasts. She smirked when she saw Naruto and Sasuke blush at the position they saw that they were hanging.

"Okay…this test is to see if you're ready to be Genin. Your objective is to get a bell from all three of us." Sakura raised her hand.

"Sensei…there are only six bells; how are we all supposed to pass if we all have to get one bell from all three of you?" Kurenai spoke up to get things moving along.

"Nice observation, the reason being that whoever gets all three bells will pass." Kakashi nodded at Kurenai and looked over his team. "The one that doesn't put forth the most effort will be tied to one of those posts and forced to stand while their teammates have breakfast." As if on cue, Sakura's stomach let out a low growl signifying that it wanted to be fed, the Jōnin noticed that Naruto and Sasuke's stomach didn't growl.

"Come at us with the intent to kill or you won't stand a chance. If you don't get three bells by Eight A.M. then you fail. Ready?" All three Genin got into ready positions and nodded. "Go!" All three disappeared and left three Jōnin standing in the middle of the field. 10 minutes passed Asuma chuckled and looked around as Kakashi took out a certain little orange book.

"So…Kakashi, any target in particular?" Kakashi nodded

"The Uchiha…over there; hiding in the tree lines." Asuma nodded

"Kurenai-koi…?"

"Haruno…" Another nod

"That leaves me with Anko's kid…perfect."

"Remember: If a bell is taken, your target is rendered incapacitated, or you've been going at it for an hour…make them go after another one of us got it? If both of your bells are taken then radio to each other that you're out." Getting nods from his comrades, Kakashi flipped a page in his book and tossed a headpiece to the others.

"*Sigh* Well I better get going see ya in an hour." Asuma disappeared in a swirl of leaves. 5 minutes later Kurenai then disappeared within Sakura pedals, and Kakashi stood still.

'This is going to be fun…' Kakashi turned to see Sasuke walk out into the open and stand in front of him.

-Forest [With Sakura] 5:22 A.M.-

Sakura was hiding under a shrub when Kurenai came into view. Kurenai for her part was disappointed in the girl and how she was hiding. From where she was standing, Kurenai could see a hint of pink that was under one of the shrubs.

'*Sigh* Now I can see why Kakashi suggested to move Hinata to his team.'

_- Flashback (Hokage's office-yesterday ago) -_

_Kurenai and Kakashi were standing in front of the Sandaime when Kakashi wanted to point something out. Hiruzen looked over the duo and brought out his pipe while Kakashi pulled out his book._

"_Now…Kakashi, you said that you had a point to bring up over the teams?"_

"_Yep...to put it bluntly…I think that Hinata should be replaced with Sakura on my team as soon as possible." Kurenai looked at Kakashi._

"_Care to explain Kakashi?"_

"_Yes...not to judge your abilities Hokage-sama, but both teams 7 & 8 are over balanced in one category." Kurenai simply blocked out the rest of the conversation and left when dismissed._

_-Flashback End-_

Kurenai was so angry at Kakashi for suggesting such a thing to the Sandaime, that she ignored the entire conversation. When she was dismissed, she went to get breakfast with Asuma, so she didn't hear everything. For now…Kurenai simply decided to go for a simple D-ranked Genjutsu and snuck behind Sakura to catch her off guard.

"You know…it's hard to hide when you're wearing a lot of pink and red." Sakura shrieked loudly before Kurenai disappeared in a swirl of leaves. When Sakura looked around…she heard someone say her name.

"Sa-Sakura…"

"Sasuke-kun?!" Sakura had hearts in her eye when she heard Sasuke call her name…that was, until she turned around and looked at him coming out of the trees.

"S-Sakura…Help Me!" 'Sasuke' fell to the ground with a lot of kunai embedded in his back. Sakura did the only thing she knew how to do at a time like this…she let out an ear-bleeding scream. Kurenai simply shook her head at her and went to pick up the failure of a Genin and take her to Kakashi.

'So much for using simple Genjutsu…'

-Lake [With Naruto] 5:27 A.M.-

Naruto was jumping through the trees for the past 20 minutes, when he heard a loud scream. Looking in the direction of the scream Naruto stopped and listened again.

"Sakura?" While Naruto was standing on the branch, Asuma was under the same one and watched Naruto's movements. Bringing out one of his Trench Knives, Asuma channeled Chakra in the blade and swung down, or up, at Naruto. Naruto for his part felt the surge of Chakra and jumped out of the way and onto the lake just in time to see the tree he was on getting cut in half. Looking around Naruto tried to determine where the attack came from. Asuma was smirking at Naruto's skill and evasive abilities.

'Got to admit…kid has gotten good, maybe this will be more fun than I thought.' Stepping out in the open near the shore, Asuma popped a cigarette into his mouth. Naruto looked up and immediately went into high alert; Asuma was here with him for a reason. What that reason was, Naruto didn't know but would figure it out soon enough.

"So Naruto…how's it been?" Naruto offered a shrug and settle into a mantis stance.

"Eh…would've been good if we had someone like Hinata-chan on our team." Asuma saw a chance to poke Naruto and took it.

"So 'Hinata-chan' huh? Gotta admit Naruto…you work fast. Who knew that you would try to land Hiashi's daughter." Naruto immediately blushed and looked away. Asuma took this chance and went through a series of hand signs. "You know…this lake is the perfect place to get destructive with a variety of different jutsu. Still…this is a test so…Fire Style: Burning Ash!" Asuma breathed out some smoke and, before Naruto knew it, lit the gathering fumes with a flint that was in his mouth.

'So that's why he's fighting me! This is to test my Ninjutsu out on the water! Luckily for me I'm getting the hang of using water jutsu and thanks to Kaa-chan's water affinity I'm able to move easier on the water.' As soon as Naruto landed he did a series of hand signs.

"Sorry Asuma-sensei but won't you get the drop on me this time. Water Style: Water Snake Jutsu!" Naruto stretched out his hand and, just like Anko did with her snakes, had water that gathered around his hand shoot out and form into a snake with it's mouth wide opened. Asuma cursed a little, but managed to dodge and run up to Naruto.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Naruto tried to jump out of the way but a burst of wind knocked him up in the air. Asuma smirked at seeing his jutsu land a hit, that soon turned to shock when he saw 'Naruto' burst into a puff of smoke. Looking around Asuma saw Naruto was standing on the water unharmed and was transformed into his female version with a Jian in 'her' hand. Asuma watched as Naruto did a simple cross hand sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Asuma watched as Naruto disappeared in smoke; that was until it cleared and revealed to be at least 50 clones standing on the water, all of them a perfect replica down to the masks that they wore. Asuma also noted that Naruto, which ever one that was, didn't even look winded when he was done with the jutsu. Asuma watched at 30 of the clones began to charge at him all holding the jian in their hands in a different way; the noticeable thing was that they were more like 'skating' toward him since their feet seem to follow the flow of water and not make ripples. Asuma brought out his Trench Knives again and was about to defend himself, had it not been for the shouting of the other 20 Feminine Narutos left behind. "Water Style: Raining Hail-Fire Jutsu!"

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Asuma, once again, blew out a string gust of air that knocked back many of the clones and send them into the water shards that was falling right at him. While the ones that were in the air were providing…cover, Asuma was running across the water, dealing with any that were still left. The small army of clones soon dispelled and Asuma was starting to get winded.

"Nice work Sensei, but…this is where it ends." Asuma looked up and saw the last of the clones skating toward him while the last was gathering chakra and made the water start to surround him…or her since Naruto was transformed into a girl. Asuma quickly dispatched the clones and saw that the last, and likely real Naruto, was now skating towards him.

'Damn he's good…I might have to let him get a bell for putting up a fight.' Asuma raised his Trench Knives and channeled wind chakra through them and waited. As Naruto began to close in, the water began to drop into the water. 'What?!' Naruto did a series of hand seals and raced forward intent on getting a bell. The Asuma watched at the water gathered again, but in the form of a dragon head.

"Enhanced Water Style: Rushing Dragon Jutsu!" The water dragon let out a roar as Naruto jumped in the air, cocked back his arm to throw a punch and crashed into Asuma on the water. The ensuing collision caused a large splash that could be seen from the Hokage's Tower. Asuma was able to substitute himself with a log just as the attack landed, but Asuma was shocked beyond belief at the power behind the collision when the log was ripped to shreds. Unfortunately, Asuma forgot lesson one on being a ninja: always check your surroundings. Asuma was barely able to block the jian that was moving in a horizontal motion aimed at his neck.

"How?!"

"Easy. Shadow Clone Substitution." Asuma nodded and brought his knives up again in one last defense. Naruto smiled and began to swirl the blade in his hand. "I always wanted to try this…don't worry Asuma-Sensei; I'll get you even better knives. Water Style Weapon Dance: Tsukuyomi." Naruto rushed forward and had the water that surrounded the two turn black and reflect the sky at night with Naruto standing on the moon. Asuma held up his knives and channeled as much wind chakra as he could into them. He watched in amazement, shock, and pride as Naruto's attack had cut through his knives with ease, but didn't affect him at all.

One thing that he did know was that his favorite knives were now destroyed and the bells that he tied to his wrist were gone. Looking over, he saw Naruto had the bells in his mouth.

"*Pant* Good work…*pant* Naruto. Now…*pant* go see Kurenai for you next test. She's…*pant* in the forest near the meeting point. I'll wait here for while…" Naruto nodded and left with the bells that he got from Asuma in his hands. Asuma just watched as Naruto walked away and had one thought on his mind.

'I wonder how Kakashi doing against his student.' Looking at the sun Naruto guess that almost 45 minutes passed since the test started, so he quickly went to find Kurenai.

- Field [With Sasuke] 6:02 A.M. -

Sasuke was currently being sent to a tree. Landing with a loud 'Thwack' Sasuke looked up to see Kakashi still reading his book. It pissed him off a little that his sensei wouldn't take him very seriously. They've been going at this Taijutsu/Ninjutsu based battle for over 55 minutes. Sasuke was able to touch one of the bells that Kakashi had, but other than that nothing happened. From what he heard them talk about having an hour with each student; he didn't have that much time before he had to go after someone else.

Stealing a glance in Sakura's direction, Sasuke had to sigh when he saw that she was still passed out from her….encounter from Kurenai. Naruto had yet to be heard from, that was until everyone had seen a large water dragon's head and a large splash a few saw. While Kakashi looked distracted, Sasuke decided to try one last attack before he had to leave. This should at least give very small Sakura a chance to get a bell.

'Ah Naruto…I'm not looking forward to this fight.' Turning to face Sasuke, Kakashi dodged a barrage of Kunai and sent a kick to Sasuke's chest and looked at his book again. That was until another Kunai was sent through it again and pinned it to the tree. Kakashi had a slight twitch in his eye at seeing his precious _Icha Icha_ taken away from him…again.

"Kakashi-sensei…you should knew that a ninja has to take his job very seriously. Besides, you never said that we couldn't help each other in a fight." Sasuke looked out into the trees and saw Naruto standing on a branch with his fox mask on.

'So Naruto…you're that serious about to wear that mask huh?' Naruto threw a group of kunai and shuriken at Kakashi, who quickly dodged, and ran to get Sasuke and Sakura out of the area. Sasuke was amazed, and surprised that Naruto was able to get the slip on both of them, seeing as he pinned Kakashi's book to the tree. Seeing that Kakashi was distracted Sasuke made a dash away from the area with Naruto following him.

-Forest [With Asuma] 6:17 A.M.-

Asuma was walking through the trees when he saw Kurenai on the ground with blood coming out of her nose and a dazed look over her eyes. Asuma, being curious as a Nara on a difficult puzzle, went over to see what was wrong with his lover. Dropping down and walking toward Kurenai, Asuma heard her mumbling something about tall and handsome blondes.

"Kurenai-koi…Kurenai-koi…come on get up!" Asuma did the one thing that he knew would cause him to feel pain; he grab Kurenai and shook her while also grabbing onto her breasts now and then.

"Whah? Where…Where am I? Asuma? What are yo-YOU PERVERT! WE CAN'T DO THAT RIGHT NOW!" Kurenai smacked Asuma on the back of his head and made him let go. Asuma rubbed the back of his head and stood up.

"Well Princess…care to tell me what got you talking about, 'Tall, Handsome blondes'? Because I know Naruto is considered an Adult, but he is still a little young for you." Kurenai blushed at that, but also glared at Asuma.

"Well…"

_- Flashback {10 Minutes Ago} -_

_Kurenai was currently watching Naruto searching through the trees to find her. Eventually she saw the time to attack when he knelt down on the ground, but at that time Naruto slammed his hand onto the ground and that trees around Kurenai turned to sewers. Before she hit the water covered floor, Kurenai saw that there were black marks that were extending from Naruto's hand. Upon looking up Kurenai saw what looked like a grown up Naruto, with out the whisker marks on his face, standing a good 4 feet from where she was on the ground. Kurenai tried to dispel whatever was happening but found that she couldn't._

"_Kurenai-sensei…" Kurenai made her mistake and looked up to see the tall blonde start to remove his shirt; that sealed the deal with Kurenai and she was thrown backwards from a massive nosebleed at looking at the man's toned chest and abs. She could only feel Naruto grab the bells from her and dispel whatever he set up before she passed out._

_-Flashback End-_

Asuma looked at Kurenai, who was currently blushing up a storm a whenever she thought about that man she saw. Asuma shook his head tapped Kurenai's shoulder to get her out of 'La La Land' and back to the real world.

"So…Naruto is able to create a seal that traps you into a Genjutsu like world that only he can dispel huh?"

"More or less…" Asuma nodded knew his headset was soaked in water and already short-circuited. Kurenai brought out hers in crushed pieces that happened when she fell from the tree. Both of them looked down in shame that Naruto, a mere Genin, was able to do this to them. Oh how Kami loved to play cruel jokes now and then.

"Well…we better find Kakashi and tell him that he has no back up for the next…" Asuma looked at the sun. "...Hour and Fifty minutes." Kurenai nodded and took Asuma's hand and started walking to where the field was.

- Lake [With Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura] 6:25 A.M.-

Sakura was currently trying to reach into a tree to not only grab and apple, but to also strangle Naruto, who was also on the other end, holding the apple above her head. Sasuke was looking at Naruto in…praise? And processed how Naruto was able to beat not only his opponent, but also Sakura's and get both bells from them. Currently he was holding a set of two while Sakura demanded to have the other two to pass.

Naruto simply flicked her in the forehead and ran up the tree to pick an apple that he was currently torturing Sakura with.

"Naruto…didn't you say that Kakashi-sensei always said, 'Look underneath the underneath' right?" Naruto nodded and threw that apple at a passing squirrel that was passing by, much to Sakura's ire. "What if this test wasn't meant to only test our abilities?"

"Huh?"

"When you and Sakura left I stayed behind and hid in the tree line. I over heard that I we fought one of the for more than and hour…that they were supposed to lead us to another if we either got knocked out, ran out of time, or got a bell. Then, if they didn't have any bells they were suppose to radio to each other what happened." Naruto smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well then I guess it was a good thing that theirs broke huh?" Sasuke smirked and looked around.

"Now we just need to some up with a plan to get that last two from Kakashi he's…"

"…likely reading a smutty book with Asuma and Kurenai in front of him and already coming up with a way to make us fail." Sasuke looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "Instinct based on what I know about them."

"Let's get started." Both Sasuke and Naruto jumped from the tree branch and landed next to Sakura and dragged her away to set up some traps.

- Field [With Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai] 6:35 A.M.-

So let me get this straight…Naruto was able to outdo both of you and manage to get the bells from you too?" Getting a nod Kakashi let out a heavy sigh. "Great…It'll like be that he give both to either Sasuke or Sakura. *Heavy sigh* Well…the only thing we, or more specifically me, can do is wait and see what they come up with. You two can leave if you want or…you can join everyone that was hiding up in the tree line." At this Anko, Fugaku and Mikoto, Hiashi, and Mitsu jumped down from the tree.

"So how long have you known?"

"Since I started the test after Asuma and Kurenai left. So what do think about Sasuke's ability Fugaku? Do you think he'll manage." Fugaku nodded

"He's is not like Itachi…but that is something that I'm rather proud of. He should be able to gain strength over time; especially with Naruto on the same team outdoing what he does…it'll likely inspire him to train harder. Also…I expect him to follow you in skill, but if he does what you've done and start to depend on the Sharingan, then I won't hesitate to take the one that Obito has given to you." Kakashi simply nodded.

"Anko? Any opinions or questions?"

"Yea…look out for when he pulls out a weapon. I think Asuma can attest to that." Asuma pulled out his Trench Knives and showed everyone. Needless to say, everyone was shocked; Asuma's knives were known to be made of a special metal as hard as diamond, to see it cut into two was astonishing.

"When we were on the lake he manage to summon fifty Shadow Clones to deal with me while he gather chakra. Once he gathered enough, he 'skated' over the water towards me and gathered the water to form a dragon head. He called it, 'Enhanced Water Style: Rushing Dragon Jutsu'. When I substituted at the last second, he did the exact same thing with a shadow clone. The log on the other hand…was shredded to pieces at the attack landed." Everyone grew wide-eyed at that.

"What about your knives? Surely you didn't leave them in the attack!"

"Of course not…it was his final attack that cut them. Naruto gathered energy again and started to 'skate' towards me again. The thing is…that water started to turn black and reflected the stars in the sky, Naruto was standing in the moon and then his blades connected with mine while I pumped wind chakra into them. He passed through me and somehow got bells and cut my knives without it affecting me." Mitsu was interested at the attack.

"Can I ask you what he called the attack Asuma-san?"

"Yea…he called it, 'Water Style Weapon Dance: Tsukuyomi'." Mitsu could only let out a laugh of joy as he danced around like a monkey.

"Haha! Finally, a worthy successor!" Anko looked at him like he just gone insane.

"What the hell are you going on about Mitsu? What do mean 'A Worthy Successor'?" Mitsu turned to everyone, the smile never leaving his face.

"I mean the next 'Sage of Six Sights'! The 'brother' in terms of power connected to the Sage of the Six Paths! Haha! The Legend goes.."

- Field {7:45 A.M.} -

'Almost time…' Kakashi looked into the sky and sighed. 'I guess this year is going to be just like the rest...another failed team.' Just as Kakashi thought this a kunai and shuriken were thrown towards him to catch his attention. Blocking the two projectiles, Kakashi looked to see Naruto and Sasuke running towards him in a frontal attack. Kakashi sighed and got ready to attack, until then two started criss-crossing their paths and ran right passed him.

"What?!" Kakashi dodged the Bo Staff that was heading to his head and saw Naruto smiling and then disappear in a puff of smoke. In the tree lines Sakura was tossing weapons at a random order to catch Kakashi's attention. Kakashi, realizing what they were doing quickly swiped his leg across the floor and caught Naruto and Sasuke off guard. Taking advantage of this, Kakashi took the bells that were on their waist and threw them away.

Asuma and Kurenai jumped down and caught them while Sasuke and Naruto fell down. Looking up in confusion Kakashi explained.

"I never said that they couldn't try to get their bells back. Looks like you're starting from square one." Naruto immediately formed a cross hand sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Everyone watched as Naruto multiplied to 100. All of them in the lightning style based kata. Half of them grabbed another and threw them towards the elder ninja. Meanwhile the one left behind started to gather chakra and pull out their blades. When the Jōnin dispelled the clones they all watched as the rest charged with kodachi in their hands.

"Move!" Half the clones dispelled and added their chakra to the remaining 25. Naruto couldn't stop the attack so he decided to show everyone what it was.

"Lightning Style Weapon Dance: One Thousand Birds!"(1) The remaining clones charged and rushed at a tree that soon turned black and was cut through like a hot knife through butter. It was at that time an alarm set up went off. Looking up with wide-eyes Team 7 knew that they failed the test. "Damn…I was…so close…"

"Well…it seems that your time is up, you know that means…but first let's have a little breakfast. Kakashi brought out a little scroll and unrolled is to show a seal. When he released it a table full of food was in front of the three Genin. Sakura's mouth was watering, but Kurenai placed hand on her shoulder and held up a rope.

- Field {8:05 A.M.} -

"THIS ISN'T FAIR! NARUTO-BAKA SHOULD BE TIED HERE NOT ME!" Naruto and Sasuke sat next to a screaming Sakura and had a plate of food.

"We'll be back in an hour to try again. Don't, under any circumstances, feed Sakura. If you do you'll be dropped out of the Shinobi Corps entirely." That said the three Jōnin left. Immediately Naruto brought out a blade and cut Sakura down from the post and held out his plate for her.

"Eat up…hurry." Sakura looked at him in confusion. "We failed because one of us wasn't focused…I won't let the entire team fail because of one member so eat up." Sakura took the plate and took one bite before Kakashi rushed out of the trees with his hand holding lightning.

"YOU! YOU WERE TOLD NOT TO FEED HER!" Naruto and Sasuke stood and a defense position.

"WHO CARES!? I WON'T ABADON MY TEAMMATES FOR A MISSION! WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!"

"THEN YOU ALL…pass." Everyone looked at Kakashi in surprise.

"Huh? We…pass?"

"Yep the object of the test was to see if you had teamwork…if you would abandon a mission for a comrade. Remember my saying Naruto? 'Look underneath the underneath'. Something that took a while for it to set in but better late than never. Remember, those who abandon a mission are scum, but those who abandon teammates are worst than scum. Now eat up and head home…we'll start our first mission tomorrow."

A/N: And…done. The polls will be closed tonight at midnight. Also for those who want to know the legend that Mitsu was talking about will have to wait. Patience is a virtue, but some people forget that this story is 'In Progress'. The next chapter will start the wave arc.

(1) I know I could've said 'Chidori' here, but I felt like I was ripping off Kakashi more than I needed to.


	21. Journey to the Waves

A/N: This chapter is Kakashi's Test.

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking'

-Forest outside Konoha-

The outer forest of Konohagakure was unnaturally quiet at this time of day. The wind barely breezed through the leaves and nary a creature made the slightest sound for they could sense danger over the horizon. It was mid-evening when Team 7 stalked around the edges of the trees; their eyes lined on a singular shadow crawling through the bushes discreetly. Team 7 consisted of the newly instated Genin: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno. The preteen trio dashed to next set of trees once the shadow turned its back to them, proceeding with ninja silence.

"This is Sasuke, arrived at point B." Sasuke said into his radio receiver.

"This is Sakura, arrived at point C." Sakura answered shortly after.

"Naruto…I'm arriving at point A." Naruto finally responded 2 minutes later than the others.

"You're getting slow, Naruto." Kakashi stated over the radio. "All right, we've got our target. Just how much distance is he away?"

"About five meters." Naruto answered seriously. "I'm ready to go."

"Me too." Sasuke responded monotonously.

"Same here." Sakura nodded.

"Ok." Kakashi said cautiously. "Get ready…go!"

The Genin trio pounced on their leader's command, leaving the security of their hiding stations. The swift rustling might have captured the targets attention, but it was the outrageous yell of the Pink haired Kunoichi that tipped him off. But before the target had the chance to do anything, Naruto scrambled close and wrapped his arm around the creature's torso to prevent any chances of escape. The Uzumaki grumbled as he looked down at his capture: the house cat from Hell. This was Team 7's fifteenth mission to collect the same cat, which could be distinguished by the red ribbon on its right ear.

There was a shared animosity shared between the feline and the fox vessel; both having no pleasure to be in the other's company. So being back in Naruto's custody, the hellcat went about its usual business of shredding at the boy's face at every chance. Of course, his teammates weren't helping as much as he wanted to. Sakura was on the sidelines, watching the whole thing while Sasuke reported back to their Jonin teacher.

"Does the target have a ribbon on its right ear?"

"That's a positive, it is the same cat." Sasuke responded, not even noticing the feline dancing on his comrade's face. "It's the same cat every time."

"Well…Looks our mission is done."

"Why the hell are we stuck with these missions!?" Naruto screamed over the radio. The effect of the outburst not only knocked Kakashi off his feet, but temporarily stunned Sasuke and knocked out Sakura. "When are we going to do something else?"

-Hokage's Office-

About ten minutes later, Team 7 returned to the Hokage's Office for their final report. Hiruzen, as per his duty as the Sandaime Hokage, was seated behind the Mission Assignment Desk to deploy and receive missions for the village's shinobi. But the Hokage title didn't really stand for much than what it did back in the time of the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage. The old wise leader was so passed his prime that other shinobi had to fill in for his position, including Iruka. The only one who didn't seem to mind was woman sitting on the opposite side of the Hokage. The woman had dark eyes and long black hair which she wears braided down her back with jaw length bangs framing either side of her face. Her attire was simple red dress with a white, off-the-shoulders blouse. Unlike many Kunoichi, she didn't wear the Konoha forehead protector around her head. But Naruto was able to recognize who the woman was, Iruka's girlfriend: Tsubaki.

Speaking of which, Team 7 had returned to the Academy with the cat in tow relatively unharmed…not counting Naruto. The Kyūbi vessel muttered a vow of vengeance against the feline as he returned the feline to its…rather rotund owner, the Daimyo's wife. It seemed like Kami liked smiling on the boy now and then. The moment her precious cat had been returned to her possession, the Daimyo's wife was literally hugging the life out of the poor cat.

"That cat's getting what he deserves. Although you know that if you stop hugging the life out of him, he'll stop running away." Naruto smiled kindly.

"No wonder he keeps running away." Sakura muttered.

"Hmm." Sasuke hummed absently.

"Nice work, boys." Tsubaki smiled nonchalantly, stressing the word 'boys'. She knew that Sakura hated people that didn't acknowledge her, which served as good entertainment for the rest.

"Plus…you managed to catch it in less than an hour this time. That's a new record, now about your next assignment." Iruka ruffled through the papers presented to him, looking down the list. "Let's see…babysitting a noble's son, grocery shopping at a neighboring village, helping dig out potatoes in…"

"Please stop!" Naruto shouted. "Can't we do…I don't know, real missions! The D-ranks are just chores for us."

"That is true…" Sasuke nodded.

'The baka's got a point.' Sakura thought. 'Why the hell are we always stuck with D-ranked missions? Catching cats, laundry delivery, and cleaning attics – this isn't something for a rising Kunoichi should be doing. I need something that will capture Sasuke-kun's heart with my abilities.'

"Oh boy…" Kakashi sighed expectantly.

"Baka!" Iruka exclaimed with authority; but Kakashi wasn't paying attention. "You're still just novice ninja! Everyone needs to start with easy missions to gain experience!"

"But we've only been getting chores late – AAH!" Naruto was knocked to the floor by his own teacher. "Kakashi-Sensei…"

"Cut it out, Naruto." Kakashi warned.

"I like this team." Tsubaki giggled. "But I don't think you taught him enough about how the ninja system works around here, Iruka-kun."

"Then maybe you can explain it." Iruka pouted.

"Gladly." Tsubaki smiled, leaning back on two chair legs. "Listen up, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once. Mission assignments are a complicated system and are the basis of Shinobi villages. A lot of clients come to Konoha every day. They request missions from babysitting to assassination. On the request list, a variety of missions are listed out in terms of A, B, C, and D depending on the level of difficulty. In some cases, we receive an occasional S-Rank mission."

"S-Rank?" Sakura repeated unknowingly.

"That's not important right now." Tsubaki stated, leaning forward with her chair. "Shinobi are also ranked Jōnin, Chūnin , and Genin depending on their level of abilities. The higher officials assign missions to ninjas with the appropriate abilities. And if we complete a mission, we receive a fee from the client. Since the three of you only became Genin recently, D-Rank missions are more suited for you."

"I had pork ramen yesterday." Naruto told to his teammates, who seemed more interest in the boy's food choice than mission explanation. Tsubaki just face-faulted out of her chair when she saw they were ignoring her. "So I'm gonna have Miso ramen today."

"Pay attention!" Tsubaki screeched.

"Oh, sorry. You say something?" Kakashi looked up sheepishly and everyone sweat-dropped at him

"Ah, don't lecture me, Tsubaki-san." Naruto frowned. "I'm not the a child you scorn anymore. I know the reason for the ranking, I just want something that's outside the village."

"I'm gonna get scolded by Anko for this." Kakashi sighed.

Tsubaki was fighting the urge to stick a kunai up the boy's neck, but she had to admit that he had a point. No one really expected him to pass the Academy Graduation Exam, nor learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu to an extent that no one else could. Even more impressive was becoming the student of Kakashi Hatake, one of Konoha's strongest Shinobi. She was finally starting to understand what Iruka was talking about the boy was growing up. Without warning, a sudden 'thud' caused Tsubaki and Iruka to jump out of their seats in surprise. Hiruzen had stamped a mission, staring intently at the former troublemaker. Tsubaki was confused, she never seen him this serious around anyone.

"If you feel so strongly about it Naruto-kun." Hiruzen smiled under his hat. "Then I guess I have no choice but to assign your team to a C-Rank mission. Your assignment is to escort a very important client to the Land of Waves."

"Really?" Naruto asked. "Who?"

"Don't sound too excited." Hiruzen said patiently with sarcasm in his voice. "I'll introduce him. Can you please come in now?"

The Hokage was referring to someone behind the doorway on the opposite end of the room. Naruto was watching with curiosity. Who was he was protecting? a rich noble? or maybe a famous actress? This mission was just what he needed to bring him closer to protecting his precious people. As the door slid open, the Crimson-clad boy curiosity dropped in record time. Their client was a grey-haired bespectacled man with a moustache that wore a sleeveless v-neck shirt with an obi, matching pants and a pair of sandals. The old geezer was swaying at the threshold of the door, carrying a bottle of what was clearly Sake…the guy was drunk.

"What the hell is this? They're just a bunch of kids." The old man slurred, downing another pint of liquor. "Hey, is the smallest one with the stupid mask really a ninja?"

"Uh…what did he say?" Naruto asked with his anger rising to dangerous levels.

His teammate's sweat-dropped, moving close to stand on either side of him. Measuring them up, Sasuke was taller than his best friend while Sakura was in between the two boys' age. Realization struck Naruto, who would have punched the hell out of the drunken old man if it wasn't for the rest of his team holding him back. So instead he settled for chucking a kunai and shattering the bottle of sake in the man's hand.

"You shouldn't judge a ninja based on looks deception is our best weapon after all." Naruto stated too calmly to sound like he was okay.

"You can't kill the guy you were supposed to escort." Kakashi stated bluntly, lifting the boy off his feet. "It's not our fault you're so short and wear that mask all the time."

"Hey! You know what these hide! I need to wear these for that reason!" Kakashi, Iruka, and Hiruzen all simultaneously flinched and looked down. Something, everyone else caught. Tazuna was still a little shocked that Naruto threw a kunai and shattered that bottle in his hands. Looking the team over, Tazuna sobered up and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"My name's Tazuna, the bridge builder from the Land of Waves." Old man introduced himself. "Once I have returned to my country, I will need all of you protecting me while I complete the bridge. I hope I can depend on you." Kakashi nodded and turned to his team.

"Alright we'll be leaving in two hours…go and pack what you need for at least a month. Dismissed." The three Genin nodded and left the tower.

- Konoha Main Gates-

When Kakashi arrived at the Main Gate he saw Naruto…with Anko and a scared looking Tazuna cowering behind his student. Kakashi let out a sigh that signified that he arrived. Anko looked over, but turned back and smirked at Tazuna. Naruto did nothing the entire time and simply moved out of the cross-fire that might happen. Tazuna sped after Naruto, while Kakashi casually strolled up.

"Anko…what did you do?" Anko looked at him with the smirk never leaving her face.

"What? I was just letting the old coot know who the gaki's caretaker was nothing else." Kakashi knew that he should report this…but was it really worth it to get on Anko's bad side? Nah. "Also…yesterday, during Naruto's test. How did you figure out what they were doing?" One word was all it took for Anko to understand everything.

"Sakura. When Naruto and Sasuke were rushing towards me I noticed that Sakura wasn't with them. When I saw the kunai coming from the tree line, I then figured that she was supposed to serve as a distraction. The thing is...Sakura's aim was not at all accurate and the shuriken and kunai weren't aimed at me; they just headed in my general direction. From there it was simply pure luck that I swept my legs out and tripped the others; I decided to grab their bells in the process and thrown them away to give them a distraction. Kurenai and Asuma were there and decided to catch the bells."

"I see…just promise me that you'll protect him from harm if it comes to it. Okay?" Kakashi nodded and watched at Anko disappeared in leaves with a small note left behind.

Also Naruto has a lot of his 'experiments' with him along with other things. Be careful if you get in a fight.

Kakashi paled at the letter and saw that Naruto had a messenger bag, the same one that signified that he had toys to play with while on this trip.

-Road to Wave Country-

"Hey, Tazuna-San." Sakura said respectfully. "You said your home was the Wave Country, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Tazuna asked irritably.

"It's just that I've never heard of it before." Sakura proclaimed. "Does your country have a small ninja village?"

"There are no ninja in the country of waves." Kakashi answered in Tazuna's place. "But there are ninjas are that help. There was once a time when the Wave had help from the Whirlpool. Anyone that went up against them…usually ended up dead."

"The whirlpool?" Naruto asked interested. "Isn't that where the Uzumaki Clan came from?"

"Correct Naruto, but the Whirlpool has been gone for a while." Kakashi continued regrettably. "There are some people who escaped that island. But even with them, the Wave Country was small. It's too difficult for other nations to control them. Plus Konoha and Uzu were really close friends, so they're always willing to lend a hand to each other. Don't worry about it... this is C-Rank mission. We could likely relax and maybe even go fishing."

"Ugh, I hate fish! There's too much grease needed to cook them." Sakura whined.

Kakashi could only sigh at his pouting student. While remaining were talking amongst each other, Sasuke and Naruto were quick to notice the subtle change in Tazuna's facial expression. The aged bridge builder momentarily glanced away from the others and turned is head slightly as if to avoid looking at them. Both boys had one thought cross their minds.

'He's hiding something.'

By the time the escort group had passed the border into Water Country territory, Naruto was already starting on his twentieth Explosion Tag: Nova. He had thought that traveling to another country would be more exciting, but all they've been doing was walking for four straight hours. Patience is a virtue that would be rewarded soon enough something that he rarely had.

Taking a left at a fork in the road, the boys' eyes noticed a small puddle on the side of the road. Of course, the two 'civilians' hadn't seen it, but no one other than Naruto really had much interest in it. The Genin narrowed his eyes at the puddle as the Shinigami's blade was vibrating. Shortly after passing over the miniature pool, the water rippled and a distinct figure began to rise from the surface. Despite its small size, two fully-grown Shinobi were able to find cover in the puddle.

Both ninja wore black cloak and masks with enlarged gauntlet on opposite hands. The four wavy lines scratched into the forehead protectors exposed them as ninja from Kirigakure, the Hidden Mist Village. The targets had their backs turned and they weren't going to miss this chance. The Kiri Shinobi jumped in opposite directions, carrying a chain composed entirely of shuriken. Before the escort team knew what had occurred, the Kiri ninja were standing on opposite ends of the road with their chain constricted around Kakashi's body.

"What?" Kakashi said confused.

"First one!" The older Kiri ninja exclaimed.

The Kiri duo ripped back their gauntlets, pulling the chain with extreme force. Sakura screamed out when the remains of her sensei dropped to the floor.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" Sakura fearfully screamed.

"Second one." The Kiri-nin looked towards the kunoichi as she stiffened up. Their shuriken chain was already circling the Genin and was closing, but suddenly stopped as it was pinned to a tree by a kunai thrown by Sasuke and the Kiri duo were trapped. Unfortunately, the Kiri ninja had already prepared for this. With their chain neutralized, the duo released the mechanism from their gauntlets and jumped away. Sasuke was angered and looked around as Naruto tackled one of them from the trees, but was kicked off and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sasuke thought amazingly. "Did he just save me?"

"Watch out for the blonde kid!" The older of the duo shouted. "He's a tricky one!"

"I know that!" The younger of the two shouted back. "Go after the bridge builder! I'll take care of the others!" Unfortunately, 'others' also included Sakura. While the pink Genin was still star struck by her teammate ability, the young of the two assassins curved around and swiped his clawed gauntlet across the girl's face. Sakura barely registered the threat in time to raise her kunai in defense, feeling the sharp claw graze the surface and leave a cut.

Meanwhile, the oldest of the Kiri Shinobi was skillfully dodging the streams of kunai Sasuke was throwing, making his way to the old bridge builder. Naruto, being the closest to Tazuna, jumped in front of the client with his Kodachi crossed to defend against the approaching threat. The blonde calculated his movements and began to activate the Sējigan and unsealed his goggles to cover his eyes. He knew his eyes was more than enough to fend off the attack and would have a better chance of attacking from a close range.

Before the Kiri assassin could make contact, he was promptly knocked out by outstretched arm hitting his throat. Naruto blinked, pulling up his goggles and turning off the Sējigan. Kakashi, body and all towered over his student with one Kiri Shinobi under his arms.

"Yo." Kakashi smiled nonchalantly to his students.

"Kakashi-Sensei! You're alive!" Sakura exclaimed from her position

'I thought as much.' Sasuke thought as he went around collecting his weapons that he threw. His black eyes wandered over the Kakashi's supposed corpse, finding only a log that was cut into pieces.

"We noticed the puddle on the side of the road, despite the fact that it hasn't rained in over two weeks. Kakashi-sensei used a 'Body Replacement Jutsu' at the last moment to lower the enemies' defenses around us. He didn't bother to waste time expose his true abilities in case an enemy was watching."

"Sorry for not helping, but I wanted to see what you all were capable of in battle." Kakashi apologized/explained "But I didn't think you this good you two. You two were really alert that you avoided some serious injury." He turned to the remaining of his student and spoke in a serious tone. "Sakura…you need to be more alert to your surroundings. That is the first ninja rule you need to follow or else you'll just end up dying."

"I…couldn't do anything." Sakura thought sadly. "But Sasuke-kun and Naruto were able to handle them like they were nothing. They weren't afraid at all. They acted like real ninja while I was stuck whimpering on my knees. It's not fair!"

"Sakura…" Sasuke spoke softly, catching the pinkette's attention. "Maybe you should go home…and join another team."

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura was about to run away but stopped when Naruto shouted at her.

"Sakura! You need to stand still; These guys have poison laced within their claws. I need that poison out of you right away!"

"W-wh-what?" Sakura stuttered.

"I have some anti-venom with me somewhere…" Naruto explained seriously. "Try not to move so much or the poison will spread deeper into your systems and kill you faster!"

- {25 Minutes Later} -

"So what do we do about these two?" Sasuke looked over towards the Kiri-nin that they tied to a tree. Sakura was setting up a camp and Tazuna was helping her.

"Shouldn't we interrogate them…for Information?" Kakashi nodded and looked over to Naruto.

"Good suggestion Naruto…and since you've come up with that plan; you could have the honors of doing it." Naruto perked up and ran toward his bag and grabbed a scroll. Running back to his position Naruto summoned two clones that dragged away his victims. Not even 5-minutes later the screams to two men pleading for mercy and crying out in pain were heard from their general direction. Kakashi and Sasuke shivered as a result while Sakura ran into her tent like Tazuna did.

Coming back was a very satisfied looking Naruto with his mask offset and two missing-nin that were struggling to get away from his clones. Naruto placed his hands on his mask and fixed it to where it was before giving an eye-smile to his team. Dispelling the clones Naruto faced his two victims and crouched in front of them.

"Care to repeat what you just told me?" Seeing them shaking in fear Naruto reached his hands to the top of his mask and began to tug down on it. The two men started screaming and struggling to move away from Naruto.

"Alright! Alright we'll talk! We'll talk! Just get him away from us please!" Kakashi grabbed Naruto by the back of his collar and tugged him away so he could hear what the two had to say.

- {10 Minutes Later} -

"It seems that we've got something to talk about Tazuna."

"W-what is it?" Tazuna stammered nervously.

"These guys aren't just random ninja." Kakashi stated, referring the Shinobi assassins as he tied their unconscious forms to a nearby tree. "They're Gozu and Meizu – the Demon Brothers of Kirigakure. They're Chunin that abandoned their village six years ago and became acting mercenaries."

"If you knew that…" Tazuna questioned. "Why did you let the kids fight?"

"But I needed to know who their target was."

"What do you mean?" Tazuna asked worried.

"I mean…" Kakashi continued. "…That they were hunting you, or were hunting someone my team. You seemed to have left out one major detail when requesting ninja as an escort group. Our job was to protect and support you until the bridge was completed. We were told that we would be facing bandits and thieves, not missing-nin from another county. This kind of mission would be qualified as B-rank mission or even low A-Rank." Tazuna hanged his head in a defeated manner. "You probably have your reasons, but it only causes more trouble if you lie in your request details."

"This mission is out of our league." Sakura added. "We should quit while we have a chance. The Hokage could pass the mission on to a more capable group of ninja and we could return to Konoha."

"Hmm." Looking over his pink-haired student Kakashi nodded. "It's a bit late, but we don't have a choice. Let's head to back to Konoha tomorrow."

"You can't!" Kakashi sighed as he set his meal down near the fire

"Tazuna-san, there's one thing we need to get straight." Tazuna remained silent under his gaze. "We need to know who it is and why they're after you. Otherwise, my team and I are through."

A long pause followed through and Tazuna lowered his hat to cover his eyes, thinking over his opinions. They already knew he was lying and understood that they would leave in a moment's haste if they weren't fully informed. He wasn't feeling too safe around the children, but he could recognize that Kakashi was strong. Possibly strong enough to take on any comer; there wasn't much of a choice left.

"It looks like I'll have to tell you the real story." Tazuna sighed. "I mean, I would like for you to hear my story. As you said, this mission is most likely out of your job description. An extremely terrible man is after my life."

"Who is he?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm not sure if you would know him." Tazuna stated seriously. "He's the marine transport billionaire…Gato."

"Gato?" Naruto repeated, leaning closer to the old bridge builder. "As in the owner of the Gato Company? One of the richest men in the world, Gato?"

"You know him?" Sasuke questioned and received a nod in response.

"He's supposed to be one of the wealthiest men alive and is the owner of his own marine transport company. But in the underground world, he uses gangs and ninjas to smuggle drugs and contraband goods. He's not one to be trusted as he gained a reputation of double-crossing his partners."

"He deals in more than just illegal exports gaki." Tazuna said grimly. "He also does nasty jobs to take over other companies and smaller countries. Just a year ago, he set his sights on Wave Country. He entered the country using violence and wealth as his shield and quickly took over the islands sea traffic and transportation. On an island like the Wave, controlling the sea means controlling the wealth, politic, and the people of this island. If it's one thing Gato is afraid of; it's the completion of the bridge that has been under construction."

"So you, as the builder of the bridge, have become an obstacle to him." Sasuke said analytically.

"Then it was Gato who hired those brothers from before." Sakura concluded.

"Going against Gato would make a big mess. So why did you leave it out when you came to Konoha?"

"The Wave Country is poor." Tazuna answered mournfully. "Back in the old days when the Uzushio still existed, we used to share in the wealth. But nowadays, even the Daimyo doesn't have enough money to spare. We don't have the money to request a B-Rank or above mission. If you quit your mission after I land, I'll be killed for sure while I go home. But…there's no need for you to blame yourselves. Only my eight year-old nephew will cry, wondering where his dear old granddad is and my daughter will likely hold a grudge against Konoha and live a lonely life. But it's not your fault."

'I don't believe this.' Sakura sweat-dropped. 'He's using guilt against us.'

"Enough." Naruto growled. "Don't you dare use your family like that! They're your family! If your not willing to protect them, how do you expect anyone else to!" he roared at Tazuna.

"But-"That didn't last long as Naruto stepped across the intervening space in an instant shot his arm out. In a single angry motion he tackled Tazuna to the ground and raised his first ready to deliver the punch.

"Who do you think we are?! We're ninja from the Village Hidden in the Leaves!" He shouted angrily still holding fist in the air. "We're the inheritors of the Will of Fire! Did you think we wouldn't have helped if you'd asked?" He shouted before punching Tazuna in disgust.

"Naruto you can't treat our client like that!" Sakura shouted in fear while her inner self was yelling that Naruto was taking Sasuke's spotlight, while said person looked on impressed at Naruto's actions. Kakashi kept silent, watching. Tazuna laid on the ground quietly his face in shadow.

"No…he's right girl." Dusting himself Tazuna stood up. Drawing himself up, he faced team 7 with a determined look on his face. "I'm going back to the land of waves with or without you and I'm going to finish that bridge."

"Now that's more like it." Naruto smirked. Grinning back at him Tazuna held out his hand.

"So once again…" He began to speak formally. "Shinobi of Konohagakure will you aid me?"

Kakashi looked to each of his Genin. Naruto looked determined. Sasuke seemed to be relishing the thought of a fight. And Sakura was starting to come around to the idea; but the decision was his to make, and he made it. Walking up to Tazuna he took his hand, hand to wrist in the old fashion. "We are at your disposal Tazuna."

-Undisclosed Location in the Waves-

Deep in the misty forests of the Water Country, a lofty structure was hidden within the canopy of the trees and free from any suspicious travelers. Within one of the many spacious rooms, a short little man in a wealthy business suit was escorted by a pair of formidable looking bandits. The runty man looked very displeased, baring his teeth to the young woman and masked person lounging on the couch across the room. His opposition was a young woman.

Beside her was boy in his teens with long black hair, pale skin and large, dark-brown eyes, a slender frame, and was also quite short for his age. His attire was the standard Kirigakure pinstriped outfit which stopped at his knees. Over this he wore a green Haori with white trimmings, and around his waist a brown sash with a fringed trail wrapped around his waist twice.

"Explain to me again…" The businessman glared. "…I spent a good fortune to hire your boss because I heard he and his men were skilled ninja. So how is it that the bridge builder is still alive?"

"Stop complaining." The woman said nonchalantly. "I'll let Zabuza-kun know what happened and he'll just kill the old man in no time."

"You seem confident." The business man said suspiciously. "I heard that the bridge builder hired some really strong ninja for protection, and since the Demon Brothers failed in their assassination, they'll be more cautious now. It won't be easy."

"Have you forgotten who you're talking about?" The woman flashed her sharpened teeth. "Zabuza-kun was called the Demon of the Hidden Mist for a reason. He'll get the job done or my name isn't Ameyuri Ringo."

A/N: Another one down. What do you think? Yes I will tell how Ameyuri is still alive and with Zabuza and Haku. Do you think you guys could also stop complaining about missing information; its getting annoying to repeat that it will be brought up again _**later in the story**_.

Also the winners of the poll are: Zabuza and Haku, Kimimaro and Tayuya, and Hayate. The rest will either live or die , but not help Naruto in the story. Next time Zabuza and Ameyuri attack Team 7 see ya.


	22. Zabuza Momochi and Ameyuri Ringo

A/N: This chapter is Zabuza makes an appearance and Ameyuri's survival is revealed.

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking'  
_Flashbacks/Mindscape_  
"Jutsu/Technique"  
**"Demon/Summon Talking"**

-Undisclosed Location in the Waves-

"So the Demon Brothers failed against a bunch of snot nosed brats?" Zabuza was surprised The Demon Brothers were a good team, and rarely fooled around when on a mission.

"Hai Zabuza-sama, though reports state that the two boys of the team showed skill far greater than their title dictates. None of them used a single jutsu the entire battle, but the smallest was the most advanced. He was able to combine taijutsu and substitutions with Shadow Clones. The other used impressive skills of shruikenjutsu and taijutsu, but nothing worthwhile. The final Genin, a pink-haired girl, did nothing to protect the bridge builder or herself; instead, she relied on her teammates to do the work. The fight was too short to gather anymore Intel." the boy says to Zabuza.

"So this escort is not the average Genin…this may prove to be interesting." The boy nodded and bowed.

"That's not all, Zabuza-sama. It appears that-" before the boy could continue, Gato strolls into the room with his two thugs.

"So the great Demon Brothers failed to beat a bunch of kids huh? Maybe you three aren't not worth the ryo I'm paying you." The Kubikiribōchō aimed for his throat shuts him up. His thugs are startled by the speed in which Zabuza wields the long blade that they didn't even draw their blades until after the fact.

"Relax Gato; the bridge builder will die by my hands this time. Looks like I'm going to have some fun after all." Zabuza says, rising from his chair and making his way out of the hideout and where he could intercept the team before they made it to the target's house, but is stopped by another figure.

"Easy, Zabuza-kun I believe young Haku-kun had more to say." A short woman 3 years Zabuza's junior pointed out. The woman has long, light-colored hair along with her slashed headband. She also wears a simple cloth around the head, distinctively tied at both sides so as the ends of the material protrude upwards, while the remainder of hair is allowed to flow downwards. She wears a loose, pin-striped long-sleeved shirt with a dark obi around the waist, black pants which get much looser near the ends, resembling hakama, and striped leg-warmers. Like all the other members of her generation of swordsmen, she wears bandages loosely tied around the neck.

"Thank you, Ameyuri-sama. It turns out, that the sensei of the group of Genin is Kakashi of the Sharingan and…." Haku stopped and looked at Ameyuri for a brief second.

"What is it Haku?" Haku sighed and looked at his master with a concerned eye; something that usually signified that he found out something important.

"One of the Genin, a blonde, was identified to be from the Uzumaki Clan…" Ameyuri looked at Haku in shock; the same as Zabuza who, for one of the few times, showed surprise.

"Are you sure Haku? This isn't a false lead?" Haku nodded and placed his mask over his face and kneeled before the former Hidden Mist Swordsman. Ameyuri was still a little shocked at hearing this and did something she rarely did…she ran kneeled next to Haku and hugged him.

"I see, well it's decided then…Looks like I'll be going alone to make sure you don't die." Ameyuri says looked up in shock at her partner. Ameyuri was once of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist alongside Zabuza. The two stayed together even after the coup d'état, Zabuza's had intention of leaving her behind; opting to have nothing to do with that part of his life, but when the two found out about a known 'cure' for her involving an Uzumaki and when they found Haku in the streets, Ameyuri stayed with Zabuza to raise him.

"Zabubza…"

"I don't need you to get hurt Ameyuri! Remember what that Sannin said when she was in the mist?!" Zabuza roared, leaving the room with Haku; leaving Ameyuri to look down in sadness.

_- 4 Years Ago (Kirigakure: Rebel Campsite) -_

_Zabuza and whoever was left of the Seven Swordsmen were waiting outside a tent that was currently housing a very sick Ameyuri. She was diagnosed with a rare illness that was slowly killing her overtime; and she was near said time. Fortunately Kami looked like she was smiling on them when they encountered one the Legendary Sannin in their retreat from their scrap with the Mizukage. Tsunade Senju agreed to follow the small team and check on Ameyuri's condition and see if she could stop it. They were lucky enough to also encounter Mei Terumi and have her assist them at one of her rebel camps._

_During the time they were waiting for Tsunade to finish, Zabuza decided to start traveling round and become an assassin for hire. He and the last of his comrades wanted to get Ameyuri's condition before they headed out on their own. Zabuza was the one that wanted to know Ameyuri's condition the most out of all of them. Most of his meals were delivered to him because he was so stubborn and wouldn't move unless it was to go to the bathroom._

_After a week of waiting Tsunade emerged from the tent and gathered the rest of the Swordsman. Looking over them Tsunade couldn't help but smile at her handy work. Everyone looked at her and was filled with relief that Ameyuri didn't die._

_"Alright…for now, Ameyuri is going to live an extra 10 years. I was able to purge a majority of the disease out of her body and slowed down the process, giving her an extra 10 years to live. The bad news is that the disease is incurable even for me. If any of you want…you can see her now, she'll probably be waking up right about now." Many of the swordsmen thanked and bowed to the Sannin and the leader of the Rebel forces paid her; promising that when the civil war was over, that she would try to clear Tsunade of all her debts that she owed._

_-Inside the Tent-_

_Zabuza, Jinin Akebino, Kushimaru Kuiarare, and Kisame Hoshikgaki all entered the tent to see Tsunade's apprentice helping a very tired Ameyuri to a sitting position. Looking over her comrades, Ameyuri gave a weak smile and a struggled thumb up. Seeing her trying hard to act like nothing was wrong with her, Zabuza spoke up._

_"You know that if you try to force your body to do things it can't…you'll just end up hurting yourself in the long run. But… it's nice to see you among the living again Ameyuri." The others nodded and went up to give her either a pat on the back or a hug. Zabuza opting to giving a hug to the young Swordsman missed the blush that appeared on her face that quickly left as it came. The others gave a wave and left the tent to give the two some privacy._

_About 10 minutes later Tsunade came in to make one last check on Ameyuri before she headed off. Seeing that the young girl had a connection to Zabuza, Tsunade decided to let them know a cure that could help them with her disease. Looking up at the Sannin with Gratitude, Zabuza moved out of the way when Tsunade ordered him to sit. Not wanting to anger the woman Zabuza followed her command and sat away from Ameyuri so she could be checked, much to her disappointment. _

_"It seems that you two know each other well enough…" Tsunade's hand started to glow green and went over Ameyuri's body. Sometimes she would let it hover over certain part of the body before moving on. "…So it seems only natural that you also hear this Zabuza." Both looked up and saw Tsunade in a serious expression. "What I'm about to say stays between only the three of us got it?" Getting a nod and finishing up her check-up Tsunade sighed._

_"What is so important that only we can hear it?"_

_"Because you two seem close enough that you would die to defend one another in battle and…if it ever came to it kill each other. Now Ameyuri…This disease has been mostly purged from your body, but some still remain in you and will continue to spread. This means that ANY ninja work that you've been doing, has sped up the process and will continue if your body is pushed too much. As of right now, I am restricting you from fighting, drinking, and pushing your body over its limits." Ameyuri scoffed, but nodded in agreement._

_"Now what is so important?" Tsunade looked at the two and took a seat before leveling a gaze at them._

_"There may be a way to cure Ameyuri of her disease permanently…" both of them looked at her in shock. "…but, the problem is finding them. Until then, I suggest that you head over to the East side of the country and try to find some 'Moon Tea Leaves'. Having Ameyuri here drink that once or twice a week for the rest of her life should add an extra 5-7 years to her lifespan, the Tea Leaves are known to suppress or slow down any form of disease in the world." Zabuza waved his hands at that and Ameyuri leaned in close._

_"Yeah, yeah, yeah what is that 'cure' you just said?" Tsunade had a quick twitch in her eyes, but let it go._

_"The 'cure' is to find someone that has power over all creations" Zabuza and Ameyuri got confused at that." In other words, Find an Uzumaki and have them cure you of your illness. I know for a fact that they have the ability to do so; my grandmother was one after all. Now is here things get hard, because of that Third Shinobi War, Uzushiogakure was destroyed and anyone that lived there either died or left to find a new home. That said your only problem is finding an Uzumaki and also having them agree to heal you; their abilities work with someone that won't threaten them." Tsunade got up and left the tent to gather her things and leave the country after that. Zabuza and Ameyuri were shocked at this and both vowed to never stop looking for an Uzumaki until Ameyuri succumbed to the disease._

_"Don't worry Ameyuri…we'll start looking for an Uzumaki and won't stop until we do. That I promise." Ameyuri's face grew a little red when Zabuza looked away, but nodded in agreement when he turned back._

_-End Flashback-_

Needless to say, Ameyuri wouldn't be here in Wave Country had it not been for Zabuza and Tsunade.

- On a Boat-

Team Seven was currently, on a boat heading towards Wave Country. Sakura noted how misty it was, but chalked it up to the location. Sasuke was just looking over a small book Naruto gave him. Naruto was reading up on known missing-nin in his Bingo Book, trying to learn everything he could about them. While Kakashi was reading his little orange book and let out a pervish giggle now and then.

Once they made it to Wave, Team Seven was greeted by the nearly completed bridge. Even Naruto had to gawk at the craftsmanship of the bridge; maybe the old guy wasn't full of shit after all. Finally reaching a port, Team Seven along with Tazuna, walk towards Tazuna's town cutting through the woods as a shortcut; old people always have a shortcut. Realizing they're in enemy territory, Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi stay on alert. Naruto uses his Sējigan to look or feel negative intent in the area and finds some behind a bush. Naruto quickly threw a kunai from his hip into the bushes and waited as everyone watched what he did. Moments later, a snow rabbit leaps out; scared for its life and was shaking.

"Stop trying to be cool Naruto-baka! You could have killed the poor thing." Sakura says, choosing to check on the rabbit as opposed to hitting Naruto for his idiocy.

_'__Wait a minute. I've eaten my fair share of rabbits in my days, living in the Forest of Death in Konoha, and I know that rabbit's coat is the wrong color for this time of year. It's white, instead of a brown one, which means this rabbit is probably domesticated.' _As Naruto ponders this Sasuke hears a whirling sound. Seconds later, a huge blade whizzes through the air, threatening to cut them all in half.

"GET DOWN!" Kakashi tackled Sakura and Sasuke to the ground, while Naruto tackles Tazuna. Seconds later, the infamous Kubikiribōchō embedded itself into a tree and seconds later Zabuza appears on the long handle of the blade, staring down his opposition.

"Wind Style: Senbon Barrage Jutsu."Naruto immediately formed a dozen senbon from the out of know where and launched them at the Deadly Swordsman. The barrage impacts the tree and knocks out f the ground before it can do any damage to Zabuza.

"Well, it looks like he was right; the blonde boy must be from the Uzumaki clan. Only they could perform a jutsu that quickly." Zabuza says, appearing out of the misty forests.

"Zabuza Momochi one of the former Seven Swordsman and master of the Silent Killing. He wields the Kubikiribōchō, supposedly imbued with the ability to fix itself from the blood of its victims. Zabuza was one of the most Deadly Shinobi Kiri has ever produced." Naruto stated, reciting the information out loud.

"I wouldn't call myself a master of the Silent Killing, but I am good at just _Killing_." Zabuza says, hefting the rather large blade over his shoulder.

"Well, well I guess learning about you was a good idea after all. So Copycat Kakashi, what's say you just hand over the bridge builder and the blonde gaki and be on your merry way?" Zabuza asks from atop the tree. His answer is Kakashi lifting his headband and revealing his whirling Sharingan.

"Everyone surround and protect Tazuna. You are not to get involved in our fight! Zabuza, Demon of the Hidden, if you want Tazuna or Naruto, you'll have to get through me." Kakashi had all seriousness in his tone as he spoke. Team Seven form a triangular shape around Tazuna to protect him from all sides. Naruto rest his hands on his Kodachi while Sasuke and Sakura just hold a kunai at the ready.

"Well I get to see the Sharingan so soon? Must be my lucky day, maybe I can implant it in my eye when I'm done. Not only that, but it appears one of your little brats has a rare kekkei genkai and few Kenjutsu style, that haven't been seen for a few years. I can't recall the name, but I know it originates from Uzushiogakure." Zabuza explains, causing all to look at around in both shock and suspicion; after all Konoha was attracted to Kekki Genkai and would want to know about one that pops up.

"Let's get right to it." Stated Naruto; having grown tired of all the talking. He preferred to just kill missing and reflect about it later; though Zabuza to do the same, but spare the blonde and the bridge builder. Zabuza kicks off the tree and lands in a nearby lake as he effortlessly stands on top of the water.

"Ninja Art: Hiding in the Mist Jutsu." Using the water below to cast a thick mist around the area, Zabuza is hidden instantly.

"He's gone!" Tazuna yells, not used to shinobi, let alone jutsus.

"Eight Choices..." Zabuza voice echoes from every direction in a growl.

"Don't drop your guard and you'll be dead before you even realize it." Kakashi warns, getting the genin to focus.

"The Kidney, the heart, the liver, the spine, the cervical vein, the jugular vein and, my personal favorite, scrambled brains; which should I go?" Zabuza unleashed some tendrils of his infamous demon shroud to further darken his mist.

_'__Dammit, all I can see is a mass of chakra; I can't even make out my team's position through this...'_Kakashi thinks with worry, hoping that this mist didn't affect Naruto's Sējigan either. Sakura begins to shake like a leaf; scared out of her mind at the KI the duo gives off. Naruto readies himself; having sparred and lived with an A-rank kunoichi. Sasuke tries to sense the A-rank shinobi through their intent, but is shocked when the malicious intent seems to come from every direction at once! Calming himself, Sasuke tries to feel the wind and ground through the mist to find any disturbances.

_'__Come on... I know you're out there somewhere.' _Sasuke said mentally, standing perfectly still and sending chakra into his ears. Listening with his enhanced hearing, Sasuke hears the wind being cut by metal and clothing flowing with the wind. Kakashi flares his chakra to dispel the Demon shroud in the mist.

_'__The KI…it feels like I'll be killed if I move a single muscle. It's driving me crazy...the intensity between two Jōnin... It feels like my life is sucked out of me. I can't take it any longer, if things continue like this... I'd rather die!' _Sasuke panics mentally. His body trembles uncontrollably and in his fear, Sasuke brings his kunai to his neck, ready to slit his own throat to rid himself of the KI.

"Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto don't worry. I'll protect you all with my life.. I don't let my comrades die." Kakashi says, giving the team his patented eye smile, despite the situation.

"We'll see about that!" Zabuza exclaims, appearing in between the team's guard, with his Kubikiribōchō already in motion to cut them in half! Kakashi tries to substitute with Naruto, but it's too late. Naruto was cut almost completely in half by Kubikiribōchō, the blade being buried 3/4 inside his body. Before Zabuza can smirk, Naruto started to laugh. Kakashi, recognizing the explosive clone, swiftly grabs Tazuna and Sakura as Sasuke swiftly dash away just as the clone explodes. Zabuza reveals his self to be a Water clone and evaporates under the intense fire. Sensing Zabuza behind him, Kakashi tosses Tazuna and Sakura to separate sides of the field, just as he's cut in half.

"GYAAA!" Sakura screams, the thought of her sensei being bisected too much for her to handle. That is until Kakashi bursts into water, like the Zabuza clone he learned it from.

_'__A Water clone? No way! He copied me even in the mist?' Zabuza was amazed_ before he feels cold hard steel against his neck.

"Don't move." Kakashi demands, shocking even Zabuza with the speed the Ex-ANBU Captain moved.

"Wow." Naruto says from his position in the trees, impressed with Kakashi's speed and ability to mimic an enemies' tactics. Sakura felt overjoyed that it was all over, that is until they heard Zabuza chuckling.

"Hmhmhm it's over? You just don't get it. There's no way you can defeat me with your monkey see monkey do tactics." Zabuza says. Kakashi pressed his kunai against Zabuza's neck, but the man continues to talk.

"Still, it was impressive. Copying my Water Clone and having it say those touching words to draw my attention, while the real you hid in the mist and waited. Nice plan, but…" Zabuza says, just before Kakashi feels a presence behind him.

"I'm not that easy to kill..." Another Zabuza says from behind Kakashi, who stabs the one in front of him to reveal another Water clone.

"That one's a fake too?" Sakura says, falling to her knees from the emotional and mental stress the battle had on her. Zabuza swings his Kubikiribōchō in an attempt to cleave Kakashi in two, but Kakashi ducks under the swipe as the blade buries itself into the ground. Zabuza uses the momentum from his swing to do a hand stand on the butt of the Kubikiribōchō and hits Kakashi in the gut with a side kick. Zabuza attempts to pursue him, but throwing nails, courtesy of Naruto, littered the ground around him.

"Foolish." Zabuza says, disappearing in a splash of water.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yells, sensing the Water chakra Zabuza was gathering around Kakashi.

_'__He's also strong in Taijutsu.' _Sasuke analyzes, really wishing he had his Sharingan activated right now.

_'__No way! Kakashi-sensei got knocked down?' _Sakura says mentally, before she realizes something.

"Where is Naruto?" Sakura asks, having lost track of her blonde teammate after his initial trap with the explosives.

"Don't worry he's around here somewhere, but this is bad! Real bad, Zabuza must be preparing a lethal jutsu, judging by the amounts of chakra he's gathering." Sasuke states with worry in his tone. Kakashi surfaces from the lake, trying to walk on its surface, but finding the water as thick as mud.

_'__Heavy water, but how is that possible?' _Kakashi thoughts were not long after it crossed his mind.

"Fool, Water Prison jutsu!" Zabuza roars, shaping the water around Kakashi into a sphere with one arm inside to keep the jutsu going. "This prison is inescapable! It's stronger than steel, so even if you could move, your puny kunais would be useless!" Zabuza taunts the now caged Kakashi, before he turns to his true targets, and the genin protecting them.

"Water clone jutsu!" Zabuza shouted, forming a clone from the water of the lake.

"Wearing those headbands and acting like shinobi, HA! A real shinobi has survived numerous brushes with death. What do any of your brats know about being Shinobi?" Zabuza asks, as Naruto raises his hand and dropped on the water like it was dry land and wearing his mask. Surprising everyone watching; except Kakashi.

'So Naruto…you want to show who you really are…'

"I know what it means to be a shinobi. To have people trying to kill you from the day you were born, having kunai jabbed into your body and explosive tags strapped to your limbs with only seconds to free yourself. The life of a shinobi is filled with pain, but…a shinobi perseveres and strives to live another day." Naruto says sagely.

"Hn…Once you're good enough to be in my handbook, then you can be referred to as Shinobi. Until then..." Zabuza says, disappearing in a splash of water and appears in front of Naruto, aiming a side kick to his face, only for its leg to be literally blown away.

"If that's the case, put this in your handbook. Wind Style: Gale Storm Push Jutsu!" Naruto says, channeling wind chakra into a Cyclone of high velocity winds that whirl counter-clockwise as opposed to clockwise. The whirling wind expands and completely blows away the Water clone followed by a fireball that consumes the clone. Looking back Naruto saw Sasuke giving him a smirk.

"Well now…looks like things just got interesting..." Zabuza says, forming several more Water clones...

Naruto looks at Sasuke and the two share a moment; instantly they both know what to do. Naruto rushed out dispelling the closest Water clone by him as he raced for the real Zabuza.

"A lot of arrogance but…do you think you stand a chance?" Zabuza asks, seeing the Genin race towards him.

"What are you doing? Run away! This fight was over the moment I got caught! Our duty is to protect Tazuna san! Did you forget that?" Kakashi commands, but Naruto just ignores him.

"Going to keep playing shinobi huh? Please, when I was your age, these hands were already dyed red with blood." Zabuza says.

"That makes two of us. My first kill was at Seven years old." Naruto says darkly. Sakura and even Sasuke are shocked by the confession. Naruto may have blended in during the Academy, but to have killed before even entering?

"Ah now I see…" Zabuza's eyes showing the excitement from his expectations alone. By the time Naruto reached the real Zabuza, two Water clone appear and elbow thrusts his stomach, but they didn't stop there. The Water clone slammed their fists into the Genin's stomach, crashing them into the ground. Naruto just puffs into smoke, shocking Zabuza.

"Well isn't that interesting, a genin that can use Shadow Clones. At least the blonde one seems to be a true shinobi, a young shinobi but a shinobi nonetheless. Not like you, Uchiha HA look at you! You're standing still in the middle of a fight, pathetic!" Zabuza says, but Naruto appears in a second and throws a fūma shuriken. Sasuke takes this time to run to the edge of the water bank.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screams, ready to race off and get 'her' Sasuke-kun, but her duties as a kunoichi keep her guarding Tazuna. Alongside Naruto, who rushes Zabuza again, only this time both go through hand seals.

"_Wind Style: Wind Wheel Jutsu!"_Naruto chants mentally, forming a single wheel of swirling winds that roll towards Zabuza, aiming for the arm that imprisoned Kakashi.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke roars, building up so much and letting it go. The two jutsus combine, the winds adding fuel to the flames increasing the size. Zabuza is shocked, realizing that his only options were to either dodge and release Kakashi or lose his arm and release Kakashi; the choice was simple. Zabuza releases his water prison as Kakashi quickly races towards land before beginning hand seals. Despite his swift actions, Zabuza still manages to get a second degree burn on his arm. The Collaboration jutsu rages for a while longer before it explodes in a sea of fire and wind.

_'__Was that a collaboration jutsu? Since when can Naruto baka use nature transformation?' _Sakura ponders.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Calamity!" Kakashi roars, channeling lightning chakra into his hands and slamming the water, electrocuting the surface. Lightning dances on the water's surface, racing towards Zabuza, who uses substitution to replace his self with one of his Water clones.

"Damn It!" Zabuza roars, racing towards the two genin with his Kubikiribōchō ready to cleave them in half, only for Kakashi to appear and block it with a kunai, a look of murder in his eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cheers, seeing the man free once more.

"Great plan Naruto-kun." Kakashi says, trying to fill his lungs with as much air as possible.

"I actually got the idea when Sasuke fired a 'Fireball Jutsu' at my 'Gale Storm Push Jutsu' By combining my wind with his fire, I figured we'd have enough power to free you, or kill Zabuza, whichever came first." Naruto says with a chuckle; feeling pride in his plan being a complete success.

"Tsk, I got distracted and released the jutsu." Zabuza says, trying to save whatever pride he had.

"Wrong! You didn't simply release the jutsu; you were 'forced' to release it." Kakashi corrects him.

"I'll tell you this; I don't fall for the same jutsu twice. So now what will you do?" Kakashi says, his Sharingan in full blaze as both Kakashi and Zabuza disappear and reappear on the water.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" both Zabuza and Kakashi roar shaping the nearby water into two large, powerful dragons, that crash into one another; turning into a drizzle.

_'__That many seals and he copied them perfectly!' _Sasuke thought, watching a fully fledged Sharingan in action.

_'__My movements...he's completely...damn that...' _Zabuza starts; growing more frustrated each time Kakashi copies his hand seals or blocked his attacks.

"Freaky eye is pissing you off, right?" Kakashi says, finishing Zabuza's thought, truly shocking him.

"Damn you! I'll make it so you can never open that mouth again!" Zabuza says, going through hand seals in a blur.

_'__That…that's…me?'_Zabuza asks, stopping his hand seals at the sight of himself behind Kakashi.

"Is this one of your genjutsu?" Zabuza asks, but his answer is,

"Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu!" Kakashi roars, water spirals around him in a ring before it streams down and crashes against the stunned Zabuza. Zabuza is sent for a ride as the water washes him onto shore and slams him against a tree. Kakashi makes sure to pin Zabuza to the tree with kunai to the left leg and both arms.

"How?" Zabuza asks with a tint of shock in his tone at seeing the Sharingan in action.

"What lies in your future is defeat…sorry nothing personal." Kakashi says darkly, armed with a kunai. Before Kakashi can finish the job, to senbon needles stab Zabuza through the neck as his body hits the ground with a thud.

"I got you!" a masked figure says, appearing next to Zabuza in a splash of water. Kakashi checks his pulse and finds nothing.

"Thank you for your assistance. I have been searching for the opportunity to kill Zabuza for some time now." the masked figure says.

"That mask, so you're a hunter-nin from Kiri." Kakashi says, getting a nod from the hunter-nin.

"Hunter-nin?" Sakura asks.

"Yes it is my duty to hunt down nuke-nin from Kiri." the Hunter-nin says before picking up Zabuza's body; instantly gaining the alarm of Naruto.

"WAIT! How's about we help you dispose of the body? That way we know the guy's dead. I mean lugging around a body is a tough job for a kid no older than we are." Naruto states not liking the situation at all. After all, most hunter-nin dispose of the body on sight. To carry it around is too risky. The hunter-nin stays silent, before disappearing in a splash of water.

"Dammit, we…should…go…after them…" Naruto says, drawing the attention of his team mates as he and Kakashi pass out from chakra exhaustion.

"Kakashi-sensei/Naruto!" Sakura and Sasuke yell simultaneously, rushing to her teammates' aide. Tazuna came out of his hiding spot and walked over to pick up Kakashi while Sasuke picked up Naruto.

"Come on, my house isn't that far from here. We could let when we get there." Getting a nod from the two remaining Genin they follow the bridge builder to his house.

A/N: Another chapter done. Next time the team begins their training.


	23. Meeting the Family and Training

A/N:...I got nothing to say here

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking'  
_Flashbacks/Mindscape_  
"Jutsu/Technique"  
**"Demon/Summon Talking"**

Down by the docks of Wave, in a two story house made with red roofing, with a watermill, generating power, on the side sits Tazuna's house. The gentle breeze blows and creates waves on the water, but Sasuke sits near the water's edge in full lotus, seemingly undisturbed by the waves and calmed himself like his mother told him to once he got mad or was not focusing. He had to admit it calmed him down considerably from the events that he witnessed. Inside the house, on the second floor, laid Naruto and Kakashi, both resting after the battle that they had and overused their abilities.

"Are you sure they're alright?" A woman, in her late twenties, asks with concern. She has long indigo hair and is dressed in a dark blue short sleeved shirt/dress combo with a pink belly shirt over it. The woman had been worried sick about her drunkard of a father while he was away. What with Gato's men trying to break into her home and take all their food or destroy the place, she had feared the worst was yet to come. So when two children, not that much older than her own son, came rushing into the house with two unconscious shinobi, one even being a child like the other two, she nearly burned herself on the stove with shock!

"No need to worry Ms. Tsunami, Kakashi-sensei and Naruto-baka are just exhausted after their fight with a nuke-nin from Kiri." Sakura explained with some nervousness, getting a gasp from the woman.

"You should have seen it Tsunami, I've never seen anything like it! They defeated a strong shinobi out to kill your old man!" exclaimed Tazuna, taking another swig of his alcoholic elixir. Tsunami just sighs, not knowing whether her father was telling the truth or just telling one of his drunken tales.

"Kakashi-sensei finished the guy, though from what I read about dōjutsu, they are designed genetically to work for certain clans. If someone outside the clan were to implant the dōjutsu, it would require more chakra to use due to the dōjutsu rejecting the foreign wielder." Sakura explains.

"You seem to know a lot about dōjutsu. Anything else you want to share scardy?" Sasuke asks sourly as he entered the house from his meditation. Sakura looked down in shame, realizing the Dark-haired Uchiha was right. Sasuke just smirked and walked over to a corner bringing out the book Naruto gave him to pass the time.

"By the way, who was that masked kid?" Sakura asks, cupping her chin in her hand to think.

"That's the masks worn by Kiri's special Hunter-nin team; though a more appropriate name to call them are the 'Cleaners'. Their job is to dispose of a body without a single trace." Sasuke explains, visualizing some of the process behind such a task.

"Why would they need to do that to their own shinobi?" Sakura asks shocked! It sounded so horrible and...well scary to think the hunter-nin was currently chopping up Zabuza's body and disposing of him.

"Well a shinobi's body contains the secrets of a village's Ninjutsu, information on different chakra types, herbs and even kekkei genkai. For example, if I were to die, the secrets to the Sharingan could be revealed. If you don't be careful there's the danger that the enemy will steal your secrets. It is the hunter-nin's job to protect these secrets by any means necessary. Think of them as the guardians of village secrets." Sasuke explains again.

"Only problem is, that was no hunter-nin." Kakashi says, shocking everyone conscious in the room at seeing him up and walking.

"What, but I thought Otuo-san said you defeated him." Tsunami says, giving her father a glare.

"And how would you know?" Tazuna asks, remembering how the Kakashi's that he showed in the fight.

"I know some hunter-nin that were from Konoha all of them complaining over things. Anyway, they've always said that hunter-nin must destroy the body immediately. With us there, it was even more important to destroy Zabuza's body on contact." Kakashi explains

"Say we wanted Zabuza's body for our medic-nin back in Konoha, by dragging Zabuza's body, the masked kid is weighed down and we could have pursued and captured him and taken Zabuza." Sasuke adds.

"That makes sense I guess." Sakura asks.

"Maybe if you got your head out of your fantasies, you'd see that the world is a lot bigger and worse than what we went through." Sasuke mocks, earning Sakura's ire. She wanted so badly to hit him, to show him whose boss! Only problem was, he was her crush and she couldn't do that even if she could.

-Miles away above a forest path -

The wind blows through the trees, scattering leaves with its force. The masked kid is kneeling next to a still unconscious Zabuza. Ameyuri sits under a tree, in the shade nursing his wounds.

"Damn Copying Bastard! I hate fixing cuts and bruises ugh! If I ever see him, I'll unleash the Storm Style on his sorry ass!" Ameyuri roars, bearing her sharp, jagged teeth. Her outburst opens one of Zabuza's wounds as he grunted in pain.

"If you're not careful all his wounds they could reopen." the masked kid says, before he takes a cutting instrument out of his medical kit.

'First I'll cut the mouth cloth, drain some blood and-' the masked kid thinks as he prepares to cut the cloth, only for Zabuza to grab his hand, startling him just a bit.

"That's alright, I'll do it myself." Zabuza says, his eyes shooting open insanely. He removes the cloth around his mouth, to reveal sharp and jagged teeth like Ameyuri.

"Oh, you've already come back to life..." the Ameyuri says monotonously Zabuza slowly got up and looked at the masked-nin.

"Damn... You sure are rough, asshole." Zabuza grunts, removing the senbon roughly from his neck causing blood to shoot out and run down his neck.

"Oh really? You shouldn't be so rough yourself, you'll really die pulling them out like that." the masked kid warns.

"How long are you going to wear that stupid mask Haku?" Zabuza asks, rotating his neck to get the kinks out.

"It reminds me of the old days...plus it was useful for this act." the Haku says, removing his mask. His hair long hair gathered in a white bun holder tied with a green/blue band, while two locks of his hair falling loose framing his face, bound with metal hair cuffs at the ends. "If I hadn't saved you, you would have been killed."

"If you were going to induce temporary death, you could have aimed for a safer acupuncture point than my damn neck! Tsk, you're more annoying than Ameyuri-_chan_." Zabuza says, redoing his mouth binding. Ameyuri just huffs, with a blush and rubs healing oil down his toned arms. Zabuza can't help but stare at the sight of Ameyuri without her kunoichi garb hiding her accessories. Not even binding tape can keep her bust from standing out, but it does make for a decent bra.

"I just didn't want to scar your beautiful face..." Haku says with sarcasm.

"Gay..." Ameyuri says loud enough for them to hear earning a glare from Haku.

"...And the neck doesn't have much muscle. It's easier to hit the acupuncture points there…if you would have let me finish explaining; besides, I bare no interest in Zabuza-sama or any male for that matter. I just haven't found the right woman for me." Haku defends with a blush. Ameyuri just shrugs and begins to apply healing oil to Zabuza's chest with a blush, very few women have been able to touch him there, and despite him hardly wearing a shirt; those woman were set on trying to catch him with less. "Anyway you shouldn't be able to move much for about a week. That electrocution Jutsu paralyzed many one your nerves so we'll carry you." Haku explains. Ameyuri stops applying oil, and turns a cold glare on Haku.

"You'll take care of it, won't you Haku-kun? After all, you're one hell of a medic-nin; how else would you be so skilled with senbon?" Ameyuri says more than asks. Haku gulps before nodding his head.

"I reactivated most of them, but their charged with chakra, which is harder to purge out of the body. Once we get to the hideout, I should be able to reawaken the rest and then you'll have to rest to regain your strength." Haku says as the mist begins to lift.

"Next time will you two be alright?" Ameyuri asks. Both Haku and Zabuza send determined glares at her.

"Next time I will defeat the Sharingan!" Zabuza says. Haku picks up Zabuza and Ameyuri rises to her feet before they all vanish in splashes of water.

- Tazuna's House -

Naruto was resting in bed with Tsunami replacing the cloth that was resting on his head. As she applied the wet cloth, Naruto sprung up into a sitting position and looked around. This act made Tsunami let out a scream of freight as seeing him respond. The sounds of steps were heard before the door burst open to reveal Kakashi, Tazuna, and Sasuke standing there with weapons at the ready.

"What happened, Tsunami? Is something wrong with Naruto?" Sasuke asks. Tsunami shook her head and moved to shows Naruto sitting up and looking rested.

"No, it was just Naruto; he sprung up when I placed a water cloth on his head." Tsunami explained, backing up from freight. Naruto just lays down and looks over to them and gives them a smile and a thumbs up.

"Sorry, but if you need to know, I was having a weird dream. One where I met my parents..." Naruto says making Kakashi flinch, since he didn't know that Naruto knew already. In actuality, Naruto was using his days knocked out to train with his parents in his mind.

"How are you doing Naruto? As a matter of fact, what can you do? I saw you use wind style in that fight with Zabuza, are you holding back?" Sasuke asks with some curiosity. No one noticed that Sakura walked into the room and was beside Sasuke.

"Yeah, since when were you so skilled? In the Academy, you were always sleeping or reading during class. Now you're even more active and know advanced skills and techniques. What's up with that?" Sakura asked.

"Deception is a shinobi's best friend. I just choose to not show all my skills in the academy." Naruto says, before trying to get up and walk over to the windowsill and sitting on the ledge of the open window.

"Hm…spoken like a true shinobi, Naruto. What's the point of having power if you're not going to use it?" Kakashi says with an eye smile. Naruto chuckles at them and looks out the window again.

"What's so funny, Naruto?" Sasuke asks.

"Nothing…I'm just thinking about Zabuza." Naruto says, holding his hands to his chin and feels a little heavy all of a sudden.

"That can't be natural... I'll have to tell Kaa-san about... Ow' Naruto flinches, holding his left arm. Naruto wraps some gauze around it, to hide it from his curious teammates, but before either Sakura or Sasuke could say anything, Kakashi interrupted.

"Alright then…now since you're up Naruto, we should begin training just in case Zabuza comes back." Naruto just nodded and went to gather his things.

"Alight then…I not that interesting enough to learn about right? besides I could show Sasuke some chakra control techniques, something about ten times more impressive than what we learned in the academy." Naruto says with a smirk challenging his best friend.

"Thanks. As long as you're 'practices' aren't too flashy." Sasuke says off handedly.

"Says the guy who spews bright roaring flames from his mouth; tell me, how stealthy is that?" Naruto jokes, before he decides to read up on Zabuza. Sasuke just smiles, while Sakura tries to get him to go on a date with her.

"Come on Sasuke-kun!" Sakura begs, wanting a date from the 'hottest' boy in Konoha.

"No. I'm already with Ino-chan, Sakura." Sasuke says coldly. He would never go on a date with her. He wanted a caring woman with good genetics, not some skinny twig with pink hair.

"But why Sasuke-kun, why don't you want to date me? I promise I'll do anything!" Sakura says on the verge of tears.

"*Sigh* Alright look Sakura, I am the last of my clan besides my parents. Most likely when I turn thirteen, I will be put under Clan Restoration Act, which means I must find strong wives to bear my clan strong children. You are not strong, look at your hands; compared to Ino, you come in last place since you never took your training seriously." Sasuke said coldly. Sakura begins to cry bitter tears, mucus pouring from her nose. Her Sasuke-kun was destroying her, she took a glance at her hands. "They're soft right? No signs of labor, your skinny and barely eat. You have absolutely no muscle in your body, I mean Tazuna-san could probably take you, while drunk. No offense Tazuna." Tazuna just waves him off as Sakura runs out of the room, not wanting anyone to see her in such a pathetic state.

"Maybe now she'll will grow up and act like a kunoichi." Naruto says, shocking everyone, while he looked over his wrappings and takes a quick sniff.

"Judging from the smell, I'd say I have you to thank Ms. You managed to wrap me up without waking me; you get points for that!" Naruto says with a bow to be polite.

"Don't mention it Naruto-kun, it was the least I could do. I have you to thank for protecting my father. I mean you're...actions sounded brutal yet, no doubt made easier to fight ne?" Tsunami says causing Naruto to nod. Tazuna sighs at seeing his daughter's fighting side come out; something Tsunami took up was how to defend herself like a shinobi would for him and her son.

"I assume that you all know Zabuza is alive and has a young accomplice right? The only thing a paranoid shinobi can do to ease their worries is prepare before it's too late. It's a rule ya know? So we go should get Sakura and we can begin your real training." Kakashi states, getting agreement from the two Genin, both of them where shaking with excitement. Sasuke reluctantly volunteered to go get Sakura. A few moments later, squeals of joy could be heard as Sakura rushes into the room with determination! Sasuke drags back into the room, looking like the life was sucked out of him.

"Don't...Say...Anything..." Sasuke says, causing everyone to laugh.

"How are we going to train when me and you can barely move?" Naruto asks Kakashi.

"Oh you let me worry about that. We're going to find out what your nature affinities are." Kakashi replied, sitting in leaning against the wall and reaching under his mask.

"Nature affinities? That's a Jōnin level skill!" Sasuke says, finally showing some interest in training. Kakashi nods and pulls out three sheets of paper that all the Genin recognize instantly.

"I'm glad you all recognize these! They are Chakra Paper and all you have to do is apply some chakra to it to find out what your nature affinity is. There are various reactions that include: Fire the paper will ignite and turn to ash. Wind the paper will split in two. Water the paper will become wet or damp. Earth the paper will turn to dirt and crumble away. "

"That's not going to work…" an eight year old child drools, walking into the room and brings a depressing aura into the room.

"I doubt you know what work is kid." Naruto says, earning the ire of the child.

"Inari where were you?" Tazuna asks, relieved to see his grandson alive and well.

"Welcome back…Jiji…" Inari says, walking over and hugging Tazuna. Inari gives the group of Genin and Jōnin cold looks.

"Inari say hello to our guests. They are shinobi that protected your Jiji." Tsunami says.

"Mom…they are going to die." Inari says pointing to Team Seven.

"What was that gaki?" Sasuke says with a glare.

"There's no way you can win against Gato." Inari replies Naruto picks up his weapons a stares Inari down.

"Correction, there's no way YOU can win against Gato, because you're too scared to even try." Naruto says earning more ire from Inari.

"*Tsk* what do you know baka? If you don't want to die you should just leave..." Inari says walking away.

"Yeah walk away kid, go cry in your room while we handle business. Alright Kakashi-sensei, I'll take a slip of chakra paper." Naruto says. Inari just broods and goes to his room, slamming the door behind him. Team Seven just shrugs their shoulders before receiving a piece of chakra paper. When Sasuke applied chakra to the paper, it turns into started to wrinkle then catch on fire.

"Amazing! I've gotta say, you should feel proud Sasuke." Kakashi says, drawing the attention of his #1 Fan.

"You have two affinities Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke asks.

"I don't know." Sasuke replies. Sakura is next to take a slip and when she applies chakra to it, It begins to turn to dust and falls on the floor. Sakura smiles proudly, knowing that having earth affinities was good for strength! Naruto is next up and when he applies chakra to the paper; the paper started to wrinkle, then become drenched in the middle before being obliterated with cuts. Everyone looks shocked at the reaction.

'Amazing…to have three affinities show and only be a Genin. You are just full of secrets Naruto.' Kakashi thinks to himself.

"Looks like we have a team of all around the nature wheel! Sasuke has a Fire affinity with a sub affinity for lightning. Sakura has an Earth affinity. Naruto has an advanced Wind affinity, and sub affinity to lightning and water." Kakashi explains, but soon regrets it she Sakura opened her mouth forgetting everything that just happened prior between Sasuke and her.

"How can the baka have three affinities? He doesn't come from a clan!" Sakura says, livid with the thought of Naruto having more power then any of them!

'It's fair not to Sasuke-kun, Naruto is nothing, he didn't deserve to have that! Sasuke-kun does!' Man she really is a fan-girl.

"Actually Sakura, I do have a clan; I'm a member of the Uzumaki clan, a once proud clan that held from Uzushiogakure. They were close allies with Konoha, due to Mito Uzumaki being married to the Shodai Hokage. Not to mention that they were feared and known throughout the Five Great Shinobi Nations." Naruto says, before walking away.

"Gotta love his spirit…Alright you two, meet me outside, we're going to be learning Chakra Control Exercise" Kakashi says as both Sasuke and Sakura nod and leave the room.

"Is this normal?" Tsunami says cowering behind her father at all the Ninjutsu used.

"From what I've seen this is nothing!" Tazuna cheers, feeling confident in them. Team Seven meet outside the house, overlooking the endless ocean and some trees lined the edge of the water line.

-On the Beach-

"Alright this is considered a must know before moving on to nature manipulation. Even though you two seem to know a bit about your natures, it never hurts to be the very best you can at the nature. My own nature affinity is lightning and I have achieved a point where lightning is like my only. Anyway, I'll be showing you the Tree Walking Exercise and later Water Walking Exercise. As you know, we'll probably have to fight Zabuza and that fake hunter-nin near large bodies of water. If you were to get knocked in without knowing these jutsu, you would be at the mercy of your enemies." Kakashi says, demonstrating said jutsu by calmly walking up the trees and literally walking upside down. Naruto then shows them that he could walk on water and acts like is the ground beneath him. Sakura and Sasuke were stunned, but not as stunned when Naruto easily walking on the surface of the water.

"Well I shouldn't be surprised really. Your clan is all about chakra control and balancing one's body with mind and soul in order to use seals. Adding in the fact that I taught you when you were still young. Still, I suggest you do whatever training you have planned on the water for as long as you can maintain." Kakashi suggests getting a nod from Naruto, who races off to a more secluded and deep area of the water.

"How will this help us?" Sasuke says, not seeing the point of learning this. Kakashi sweat-drops and grabs Sasuke before throwing him at the tree. Sasuke quickly sticks, only to find a kunai pressed against his neck.

"Do you see the point now?" Kakashi asks a terrified Sasuke, who just nods his head. Kakashi removes the kunai before going down on the water's surface. "Alright, since you both have smaller reserves than Naruto, this should less time for you to master. You should know how to focus chakra to your feet at least and walk up the tree, Simple ne?" The two Genin sweat-drop.

"No that's anything but simple!" Sakura yells only to see Kakashi gone and a note floating towards them. Sasuke catches it reads the paper out loud.

_That's the entire point. If you add too little, you'll fall right off! Add too much and you'll go flying off the tree. Now get to it. –Kakashi_. Meanwhile said man was in the tree watching them and Naruto who was off in the distance and flipped his page with one thought.

'We're going to have to free this place fast! I'm almost done with this book and I don't know if they have the newest issue here or not'

[With Naruto]

Over one hundred Narutos were sitting on top of the water's surface, each on balancing stacks of kunai on their limbs. Another hundred were sparring with each other to not only help him in his taijutsu but help Naruto get experience fighting an actual person, with their own tricks and jutsus, even if it was just him. Each punch and kick combination had soon reduced the Shadow Clones to smoke puffs, but the Naruto replicas were just as smart as their creator. They would use the smoke to hide what they had planned and activated their eyes and stared at each other.

'Wind Style: Wind Shuriken!' Twenty of the clones chant mentally, forming one wing shuriken for each of them and throwing them into the smokescreen, before going up in in a blinding light themselves. The others were blinded by the smokescreen, but channeling chakra to ears, allows them to hear the wind shuriken race towards them. The clones stop the flow to their feet and sink into the ocean as the wind shuriken crash into each, unleashing a dome of high velocity whirlwinds.

Others soon resurface and had their eyes mixed to show that they were using sub-elements in the fight. A majority had the ice ability and summoned spiders made out of ice that crashed into one another and froze the surface of the water that spread towards his team. As he landed the ice shattered except for the piece Naruto was currently sitting on and thought about what his father told him before he left his mind.

'In our world; in our times. Truth are lies and lies are truth, nothing is right. In our world, morality doesn't matter, neither does immorality. Everything it permitted,' Naruto thought it over. 'Nothing is right, but everything is permitted. Nice phrase,' The blonde thought

[With Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke]

Sasuke was struggling with the tree walking exercise, bored out of his mind! Sasuke kept adding adding too much chakra, which forces him off and makes him land in the water. This time though before he was sent flying…ice; that was what Kakashi and Sasuke saw before he was launched off the tree.

"It looks like Naruto is having fun training." Kakashi says, just as Sakura and Sasuke get back to base of the tree.

"You mean he caused those waves?" Sakura asked; Naruto was working on more advanced jutsu and she and Sasuke were just climbing trees.

"Sure did, the sooner you get this jutsu, the sooner we can move on to water walking and then nature training. Sasuke I want you to move far away from Sakura" Kakashi stated, flipping another page. Sakura looks like someone just stabbed her in the heart, while Sasuke just nods and walks away, but still close to them.

"What did you do that for Kakashi-sensei? Sasuke-kun and I were finally starting to get to know each other." Sakura says dejectedly. Kakashi just face palms himself and drags his hand over his face to remove his anger for the fan-girl that was standing in front of him.

"Look, Sasuke was adding too much chakra and was being thrown off, Sakura; which threw you off since you were concerned about him. You can probably perform this jutsu in about a two minutes already." Kakashi says. Sakura walks up the trees, before channeling chakra to her feet and stepping onto the trunk. Unlike before, Sakura stays stuck to the surface, though her ankles were weakening.

"That reminds me; I received a message from Hokage-sama, saying the Uchiha will be married to the Yamanaka, in order to produce a shinobi oriented offspring." Kakashi says with his eye smile. It didn't take a second for Sakura to lose her focus.

"WHAT?!" Sakura screams, before she falls from the tree. Meanwhile, Kakashi watches Sasuke continue to fly off the tree and fling himself into the water.

"The point of this jutsu is to stick to tree not go flying off." Says as he lands next to Sasuke.

"Then what am I doing wrong Kakashi-sensei?"

"You're doing too much, adding too much chakra to the jutsu. Chakra control is linked to mental control; something you both lack. Sakura is so obsessed with you that she doesn't have time nor the mental capacity to think about anything else. You're so focused being the best, your mind is a mess. Learn to control your emotions and you mind will follow; try meditating for a while then try again." Kakashi says, before getting up and leaving via a swirl of leaves. Sasuke just sits down to catch his breath and begins to meditate. Unknown to Sasuke and Sakura, Inari watches them from his room.

"That's just a waste of time... They're all going to die." Inari says.

"If you keep saying that, I might just suspect you're out to get us." Naruto says from behind him, startling Inari.

"W-what are y-you doing?! This is my room!" Inari says, on the verge of wetting himself.

"It's our job to make sure your jiji finishes his bridge alive. It will bring hope back to this place, so cheer up kid and enjoy the show. And think twice before saying we're going to die, I know for a fact that two of us Genin have had it ten times harder than you." Naruto says, about to leave his room. Inari was livid, how dare this shinobi come in here and act so cool? Acting as if everything was going to be alright?

"What do any of you know?! You all have probably lived comfortable lives, always had food on your tables! You have no idea what it means to suffer!" Inari yells, the next thing he knows, a Chain of Chakra is around his neck and lifts him to Naruto's level. Inari stares into his cold blue eyes as he unleashes KI through his leer.

"You better watch your mouth kid... A shinobi's life is nothing like the movies. We fight, we bleed, and we are betrayed, sometimes by the people we love most...You have a family, a roof over your head. When I was your age, I hated against by everyone in my village until my adoptive mom took me in, no one wanted me and I had to fend for myself until that happened of course. Don't let me see your face like this or attitude like it is now here or else..." Naruto threatens before dropping Inari on his bed. Said boy could do nothing but cry, wishing his Otuo-san was there to defend him...

-Meanwhile, at Zabuza's Hideout-

Zabuza was resting in a bed, with Haku watching over him and Ameyuri manipulating water from her a bowl. Ameyuri was working on both chakra control, since her chakra made the water and her water manipulation by having the water float in midair. The door opens as Gato and two of his men step into the room.

"So even you came back defeated. It looks like Kiri shinobi are pretty pathetic. You can't even avenge your men? And you call yourself a devil?" Gato says, but Zabuza and Ameyuri ignore him. Gato growls, before snapping his fingers as his men move to draw their katana.

'_An attack?' _Haku and Ameyuri asks mentally.

"Hold on a second." Gato says, walking over to Zabuza.

"There's no need to be silent... How's about..." Gato says, reaching to grab the cloth around Zabuza's mouth, only to have his wrist roughly grabbed by Ameyuri.

"Don't touch Zabuza-kun with your filthy hands." She threatens, her once innocent face souring into that of a human oni. Gato cries out in pain as Ameyuri applies pressure. Gato's men move to defend their boss, but soon find themselves looking at their decapitated bodies, their heads being lopped off by Zabuza and his blade.

"I advise you to get the hell out of here, scum. I'm really pissed off right now and might just kill you to save myself the trouble." Zabuza says coldly, his icy eyes void of everything but cold hard rage.

"One more time! If you fail one more time... Y-you won't be welcome here anymore, remember that!" Gato says, Ameyuri letting go of his wrist as he runs out of the room, tripping several times.

"Was that really necessary, Ameyuri-chan?" Haku asks.

"Probably not, but you know how I get when someone pisses me off. I just have to kill something, otherwise Kiba won't be satisfied." Ameyuri says stabbing two sword into the bodies of the men. The swords begin to draw the remaining electrons from the dead bandits and grow stronger in a flash of lightning!

"It's still too soon to kill Gato. If we make a commotion, the hunter-nin will be after us again. We must be patient; after all we're so close." Haku says.

"I guess, whatever it takes to bring down Yagura, do you buy the whole 'him being manipulated' theory Ao told us before we left?" Ameyuri asks. It was all due to the Yondaime Mizukage's reign that Kirigakure was nothing more than a bloodbath. In her youth, she had to fight just to survive as did all her classmates. She never really knew friendship or even human emotion until she came across Zabuza and young Haku. She would never admit it to anyone, but Ameyuri truly cared about them both, seeing them as her son and...Zabuza as...well... Ameyuri blushes at the thought and turns away from the two.

"Never mind, just forget it. We have to worry about the Konoha shinobi anyway. Get plenty of rest you two, Haku, tomorrow we'll go out and get more herbs. I'm running out of my healing oil." Ameyuri says, before she leaves the room to go take a dip in the nearby lake...

A/N:...Still nothing to say here.


	24. Finishing Training

A/N: This chapter is like the chapter says…with a little surprise

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking'  
"Jutsu/Technique"

-On the Bridge-

Tazuna and his workers were hard at work on their bridge. Screws were tightened, nails were hammered and bolts were bolted. On guard duty today was Naruto, who was spinning a wind shuriken in his hand. Since Sasuke and Sakura were still training, and Kakashi wanted to work on a 'secret' project, Naruto agreed to watch over the bridge. Sure, he could have just sent a shadow clone to watch, but on the off chance Gato sent some thugs or even shinobi to the bridge, Naruto wanted to be here in person. After his spar with his clones and with his mother in his mindscape, Naruto realized that his jutsu needed some fine tuning; first and foremost, Naruto needed to get it spinning faster, quicker. So far, the wind shuriken needed about twenty seconds to reach a velocity fast enough to cut through steel; that was too long.

"Don't you ever take a break from your shinobi training? I mean you came in at five in the morning!" Tazuna says, carrying materials for his bridge over his shoulder.

"I'll rest when I'm dead, old man. Besides, everyone else is training and I wouldn't want to get left behind." Naruto says. Before anything else can be said,

"…Hey…Tazuna!" A worker, with his helmet at his side, calls out. Tazuna looks behind his shoulder and recognizes the worker.

Hm? What is it Ichagi?" Tazuna asks.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and... Can I stop working on the bridge?" Ichagi asks.

"Why is that?! This is so sudden, I can't lose you too!" Tazuna begs. Without more than 3/4 of his workers quitting out of fear, he'd never get the bridge done! Naruto stops the spinning of his wind shuriken and listens to the conversation intently.

"I'm sorry Tazuna, but if Gato notices us…he'll kill not only us but our families and friends…I…I…" Ichagi struggels, though Naruto had heard enough.

"If any of you feel the same, then please leave. The old man is putting his life on the line just like the rest of you. Unlike all you cowards, he's standing up and fighting for his home. This is more than a bridge, it is Wave country's last hope to escape Gato's reign. If you all won't be a part of that, I'll more than make up for it…Shadow Clone jutsu!" Naruto roars as smoke shrouds the bridge. Once the smoke is cleared, the bridge is filled with over two hundred Narutos. "All of my clones may not be bridge building masters, but they are pretty decent crafters. Give us a job and we'll get right to it!" Naruto says as all the clones salute. Tazuna and the other workers were moved by the young man's words. He was right, if they did nothing than nothing would change.

"Well, I was going to call it a day to get food for lunch, but if one of your clones go…then we can stay and work!" Tazuna says as the others cheer! Ichagi hangs his head in shame. With two clones leaving walking away to get groceries, the other clones are given their tasks and get right to work. Their ability to stick to vertical surfaces and defy gravity made work both entertaining and a lot quicker.

[With the Two clones]

The town was large for a port town surrounded by smaller islands. The place had a water tower as its landmark, with many homes and shops, though everything looks barren and poorly taken care of. The shops had little to no food or merchandise in them and even then it was old and rotten. The homeless outnumbered home owners, as people walked around with signs that say 'Will take any job', and other things. In the alleys, the clones could hear and smell people having sex; most likely just to get ryo for lunch and dinner.

"Stop thief!" a man yells at a young child, who had stolen a piece of bread. The two Narutos walk into a grocery store, noticing how little there was in the store. There was barely enough for him to get everything on the list for the worker's lunch, but they did and went to pay for it. One man notices one of the Naruto's with a fat looking scroll on his hip belt. Closely watching the other, the man sees one Naruto pay for the groceries by unsealing ryo from a similar looking scroll. Finding his target the man walks over and pickpockets the Naruto of his scroll, before he races off. Naruto just chuckles at the man. Almost instantly, an explosion can be heard, along with a girly scream! With their groceries bought; the two Narutos head for Tazuna's house, only for someone to tug on his pants leg. Turning around, they see a dirty looking young girl, her hands out with a smile on her face. Both Narutos look at each other before agreeing and unsealing two handfuls of candy; much to the girl's delight! She puts the candy in a bag and races off.

"Gato needs to be stopped…No one should have to live like this, just to line one person's pockets." one of the Narutos says, getting nods from the other. Both disappear in a whirlwind and appear outside Tazuna's house.

{That night}

Team Seven were all present at the table of Tazuna and his family. After a grueling day of training, Sakura and Sasuke were just glad to be in clean clothes and have some hot food in their stomachs. Sakura was eating like an animal, wanting her strength back so Sasuke could be hers; she had to surpass Ino! A few times, she would almost puke some eating too much too fast.

"You should stop wasting food Sakura." Naruto says, eating his food at a more appropriate rate. Sasuke just nods in agreement and asks for more food. Sakura just sighs, before she notices something.

"Hey, why do you have a torn picture on the wall? I noticed Inari was staring at it during dinner. It seems like something purposely removed the person from the photo." Sakura says, causing Tazuna and his family's moods to take a turn south.

It's my late husband..." Tsunami says dejectedly, on the verge of tears.

"And the man called the Hero of the Wave…" Tazuna says. Inari rises from his seat and leaves the kitchen to go to his room. Tsunami tries to get Inari to return, but the boy just ignores her.

"I feel a sad story coming on." Naruto says. Tsunami yells at her father for mentioning the man in front of Inari, but Tazuna decides to tell Team Seven anyway. He tells them about the Hero of the Wave, a fisherman named Kaiza.

"It was about three years before Gato came and Kaiza saved Inari from drowning. Inari would smile and play, like most kids his age. Since Inari's blood father had died when he was rather young, Kaiza filled in as his father and the two of them were as close as a father and son could get. Kaiza even saved a part of the Wave from a flood, he was a true hero in the eyes of the people and especially Inari… but Gato came. Seeing him as a threat, Gato had Kaiza put to death in front of all of the villagers. His arms were chopped off and he was hung on a crucifix before being beheaded." Sakura, who had no experience with that sort of thing, felt her stomach try to leave so she got up and ran to the bathroom. To the others it was just another sad part of life, before Naruto got up from his seat and makes his way to the door.

"Naruto, would you please try to stay close to the house. I don't want to have to drag you back inside when you're down." Kakashi says, knowing full well what Naruto had planned.

"In this world, there are a lot of bad people... I can understand why everyone is just giving up, but that doesn't mean I have to. I'm going to show Inari and the Wave that anyone can be a hero and that heroes do exist inside each and every person; it is up to you to find that inner hero. Hey old man, you are a hero and I will protect you with my life. Sasuke, you're on guard duty tomorrow." Naruto says before he leaves the house.

-Middle of the Woods-

The Wave's natural mist still lingered as the sun began climbing over the horizon in the early hours of the morning. The wide forests were soothingly silent, only disrupted by the soft humming noise of what sounded to be a woman followed by a young boy. This woman and boy were in fact Ameyuri and Haku, but Haku was strikingly different than his normal appearance. In contrast to his Hunter-nin disguise, Haku had removed his bun holder to let his glossy-black hair fall freely down to his waist. He exchanged his uniform for a pink sleeveless, low-cut kimono, with pale red edges and decorated with small plum-colored swirls all wrapped in a white obi. The false Kunoichi hummed to herself as she picked the small plants that were littered the forest floor, examining to decide if they were good enough.

Ameyuri-sama seems more relaxed than she had been in the last four days ever since Zabuza-sama had been injured.' Even the local wildlife seemed to take notice as one of the earlier birds found a perch on her shoulder, tilting its head to the woman out of curiosity. Everything was peaceful this morning while the two were in the forest. When Ameyuri stopped Haku looked over to her.

"Are you done yet Ameyuri-sama?" Haku asked.

"No not yet…besides you know these aren't flowers, they're medical herbs. These need to be picked carefully." Ameyuri stated gently, so it wouldn't cause the bird to fearfully take flight. Compared to her when she's fighting Ameyuri was actually caring and Haku and Zabuza were the only ones to really see it. "We had to come because they are more fertile in this land. If they work, Zabuza-kun will be able to recover sooner. Besides, the islanders are still continuing construction on the bridge, which means that Tazuna is still being protected by the Konoha Shinobi. It wouldn't hurt to collect information on them while we're out."

"As you wish Ameyuri-sama." Haku bowed but looked up when Ameyuri scoffed.

"Don't act like that Haku…I'm not like Zabuza-kun in any way. I don't really like to have the '-Sama' added to my name, so just call be 'Kaa-chan' while we're here okay Haku?" Haku stiffened at this but eased up and bowed to Ameyuri.

"As you wish…Kaa-chan…"

"Great…here's an idea: why don't you do the spying while I finish picking up these herbs? Sound good Haku?" The shark-toothed woman didn't wait for Haku's response before she got up and walked of sight. The false Hunter-nin sighed and left in a splash of water.

Ameyuri was walking passed a clearing in the trees when she remembered what she and Zabuza did the night before when Haku had went to sleep and left her and him alone;her cheeks were suddenly tinted with red. Shaking the thoughts from her mind, Ameyuri collected her basket full of herbs and started looking for a new spot to collect the medicinal plants. That's when she saw it – a mass of crimson lying motionlessly on the forest floor; a few birds were trying to pick at it with their beaks. Even from this distance, she could see the spiky-blond hair and the Konoha forehead protector prominent around the child's head. It was one of Kakashi's students; the one that had defeated Zabuza with those techniques. The former Swordsman grimaced as slowly she walked over to the unconscious blond, reaching a hand out to take him. She wasn't going to waste this chance.

-Tazuna's House-

Back at Tazuna's home, most of the residents had already gathered around the table for breakfast when Sakura walked in. The pink-haired Kunoichi had a serious case of bed-head with pink locks that pointed in every direction in addition to her same old shirt. Having lived under the same roof in four days, no one even spared a second glance to the messy girl. They had already figured out that she wasn't a morning person.

"Morning…" Sakura grumbled, plopping into her seat. Taking a quick glance around the table, the lack of orange seemed apparent. "Naruto didn't come back last night again? That makes four nights in a row he's been practicing. At this rate, it'll be a miracle that he hasn't died from chakra exhaustion."

"Is Naruto-kun all right?" Tsunami asked worried, passing out everyone's breakfast. "A child staying out at night by himself seems very dangerous."

"Naruto should be fine." Kakashi said. "If anything, he's probably sleeping on the ground at this moment. He sure can be a handful, but when it comes to being a ninja, he's a decent one."

"I don't think Naruto is the type of person to die that easily." Sasuke stated, ignoring his teammate and sensei. The Uchiha pushed his seat back and stood up before collecting his gear from the wall he walked out. "I'm going to go for a walk." Kakashi nodded and then stood up and stretched out his muscles

"Though I suppose it would more prudent to check up on Naruto…He is part of the team after all."

"You're leaving already?" Sakura blinked curiously as her teammates walked out the door. "But we were just about to…" The pink-haired Kunoichi looked back at his teammate and sensei's plate, finding that the entire meal had disappeared in the blink of an eye. "Wow…he's fast."

-In the Woods-

Ameyuri kneeled down next to the unconscious Uzumaki child, sending the bird fluttering away. This boy, a boy who looked years younger than herself, had caused her Zabuza-kun a lot of trouble in a short period of time. Looking around the cluster of trees surrounding them, she noted that a couple of the trunks were scratched while some had their bark ripped off. It seemed very odd since he wasn't carrying any weapons. Ameyuri shook her head; she couldn't let herself get off track. If she killed the child now, there would be one less ninja to interfere with Zabuza's mission. Then she realized that this is the same boy that could heal her from her disease.

The woman stretched her hand forward; her fingers lingering over the Genin's jugular vein. One quick thrust and he would be dead before he even woke up. But…she couldn't. Despite herself, Ameyuri altered tactics moved her hand away to nudge him awake.

"You're going to catch a cold if you sleep there." She whispered softly.

The Jinchuriki moaned softly as he slowly stirred from his state of slumber, wincing slightly as the morning rays glared down on him. He blinked rapidly to remove the sleep to adjust, finally noticing that he wasn't alone. He was being watched by a woman…a beautiful woman at that. Naruto pushed himself into a sitting position, ignoring his popping joints.

"Who are you?" Naruto slurred. The woman merely graced him with a smile; Naruto could feel his face getting warmer. "Did you wake me up? By the way, what are you doing?"

"Picking herbs." Ameyuri answered kindly.

"Herbs?" Naruto repeated confused. "Here?"

"That's right." Ameyuri nodded. "It's to cure injuries and illnesses. I come here some days to collect the plants when they are seasoned enough so that I may take them back and use them when necessary. They are usually best in the early hours of the morning, when they are fresh with the morning dew."

"Sounds really peaceful to do." Naruto commented getting a nod from Ameyuri. "You really have to do that kind of tedious work so early in the morning though?" Ameyuri nodded and looked around to see if anyone was around.

"What are you doing here so early?" She questioned.

"Training." Naruto said confidently.

"Training?" Ameyuri blinked curiously. "Are you a ninja or something? That forehead protector is…"

"Do I look like one?" Naruto asked, hoping she wasn't going to hurt him; it was a fallback from meeting new people that usually betrayed him that he developed his. Ameyuri cocked her head to the side in confusion, but shook her head "Then yeah…I'm a ninja."

"Wow, you must be amazing. I was one too at one point." Ameyuri smiled; Naruto smiled at this. "But why are you training?"

"I want to become stronger." Naruto answered with a wide grin.

"But you look strong enough already." Ameyuri commented.

"Thanks, but I want to become stronger than I already am." Naruto stated.

"Can I ask for what reason?" Ameyuri questioned seriously.

"You just did but to answer that…it's to become the number one ninja in my village." Naruto said determined. "I'm gonna protect everyone with my power…"

"Are you doing this for someone else entirely..." Ameyuri asked, leaning forward out of curiosity. "…or are you doing this for yourself?" The blond Jinchuriki didn't seem to understand the question, which seemed rather funny to the swordsman. He was unnaturally different from what she had heard, he was completely innocent. "Do you have someone very important to you? Someone you love so dearly? I know that I used to for the one that I love…before started to do it for me…"

Naruto cocked his head to the side a bit. "What are you trying to get at?" At this point, Ameyuri hesitated to answer. In a short time, she briefly remembered her life in Kirigakure before she became one of the Seven Swordsmen. It was winter and fresh snow began to fall over the mist covered village and she was standing over a dead body with a makeshift sword, the same one that a man in this dark and dreary world that had looked at her holding. The one man who hadn't turned away from her, and with one look into his eyes and she knew she wasn't alone, Zabuza had found her.

"A person…" Ameyuri said, snapping out of her memories. "…is able to become truly strong when they wish to protect someone they love. One like I have…one that I wanted to be with no matter what and hopefully have a family with…"Ameyuri just looked at him, thinking over what she had said. To her that was the secret to true strength: to protect someone you love. Looking back, she supposed it made sense to her than anyone else. Zabuza was a hero to rebel forces in Kiri and protected it with all his heart for her and Haku. She started coughing, causing Naruto to look at the with concern and make his hand glow with turquoise colored chakra and ran it over her body, making the woman stare at him with surprise.

Naruto felt everything in his hand and instantly knew that this woman's chakra coils had been poisoned with something. Quickly pulling his hand away, Naruto drew out a piece of paper and quickly drew a seal on it before he placed it on the woman's chest. Saying sorry Naruto quickly channeled his chakra to the piece of paper and had it purge as much as the foulness it could out Ameyuri's chakra coils. After 6 minutes Naruto stopped and took the paper off of her and showed it to be completely black.

When he was done and started to put away his supplies, Naruto became curious and discreetly activated his eyes and looked at the woman and noticed that she had another chakra source within her. Naruto's eyes widened and he shut off his eyes and looked at Ameyuri with a big smile.

"Sorry, I looked at your chakra coils and saw that it was poisoned with something. I was able to take out most of it with that paper that I out on you. If you want you could come see me again and I could get all of out of you completely…I'm able to a lot of things." Naruto smiled again and got up. "Also…congratulations…" Ameyuri stared at him with wide eyes. What did he mean by that? "I hope that you and your soon-to-be child will be happy with the man that you love so much."

"Really?!" Ameyuri said happily as she stood up and hugged Naruto before collecting her basket. "I hope the next time we meet…we'll both be with the people we love." Being assured by a quick nod from the Jinchuriki, Ameyuri started walking deeper into the forest. She wanted to get back to Zabuza and tell him what she learned from Naruto; she wouldn't let the smile leave her face after what she just heard.

"By the way…my name's Naruto…Naruto Uzumaki."

"Ameyuri…Ameyuri Ringo…Thank you Naruto-kun, for telling me about my child." After Ameyuri left that clearing, Kakashi emerged beyond the tree with his nose in his book. Looking around, he could already see that his student had made maximum progress in what ever he was doing.

'_So I was right._' Kakashi thought. '_Naruto was training all these nights to perfect something. Judging by the scrapes and the few pieces of bark missing, I'd say he has been handling Shape Manipulation. But he's still missing something and that'll take time._'

"Oh…" Naruto groaned, falling flat on his face. "Hungry…I guess I forgot breakfast."

- Undisclosed Location -

Ameyuri doubted herself at the moment as she walked into Zabuza's room with Haku at her side. When she regrouped with Haku, Ameyuri had told him everything that happened after she left him in the woods. Needless to say, Haku fainted and Ameyuri was shocked that something like that happened in front of her. Now she was standing in front of the man that gave her something that she wanted and she was doubting herself on how she should break the news to him.

Zabuza was, for one, confused as he looked over his little 'family' as he often thought. At this time he thought of what he and Ameyuri did the night before and wondered if it was the right thing to do. Both Kami and the Shinigami would know he was lying if he said that he didn't love the woman that was by his side. One thing that Zabuza thought was that he was never going to have a child in his life; one that was of his own flesh and blood. Haku wasn't a bad kid to them, but he did want a child. Looking over how Ameyuri was fidgeting her spot and how Haku was not looking straight at him, he could guess that there was some news that concerned him.

"Zabuza…could I ask you something…alone…" Haku took the hint immediately and left the room. When he did Ameyuri placed privacy seal on the door and walked back to Zabuza. As she sat down Zabuza instinctively place an arm around her.

"What do want to ask Ameyuri?" Zabuza asked as he looked at her movements.

"Zabuza…would…would you leave me if I wasn't of use to you?" Zabuza was thrown back by the sudden question but thought over it. He would say yes to anyone else, but this was someone that he truly loved. It was something that he wouldn't admit to anyone, but also something that he knew would be true no matter what. He is and will always be in love with Ameyuri Ringo and nothing would make him push her away.

"Of course not Ame…I know that I've always acted cold towards you and Haku. But I did for one simple reason…I didn't want either of you to get hurt because of what I do." Ameyuri notice that Zabuza's grip on her tightened. "I act cold to make others run away from us…so one could bother us…I may sound out of character, but the truth is…I love you, Ameyuri and I want to start a family with you if we ever get the chance." Ameyuri let out tears from hearing Zabuza said. Sure it was way out of his character, but she was happy that she knew what Zabuza felt for her. Now it was her turn to say something.

"Zabuza…I'm…pregnant…" Zabuza's eyes widened and immediately looked at Ameyuri. Seeing that her face held no deception, Zabuza smiled behind his mask; he was going to have a child…with Ameyuri.

"Well…Looks like we're going to have to take out Gato sooner that I thought. We shouldn't have to work if we're going to have a kid in a few months, should we?" Ameyuri smiled and looked at Zabuza before she pulled down his bandaged and placed a kiss on his lips.

{9 days later}

After 3 days of constantly trying to learn, tree climbing, Sasuke and Sakura finally had a good enough grasp of the jutsu to move on. As promised, Kakashi began to instruct Sasuke and Sakura on how to begin walking on water, with Naruto jumping in to help from time-to-time. After another 3 days both Genin had gotten a handle on water walking that Kakashi deemed them able to learn to utilize their elemental chakra in fights.

Sasuke's training involved recharging batteries, while Sakura had to crumble rocks with her chakra only. As they both learned, the tasks were a lot easier said than done, Sasuke had a hard time getting his chakra to vibrate at the right frequency to get it to turn to electricity. Sakura had a hard time converting her chakra to crack the rock, and Kakashi knew said next to nothing about Earth chakra to help her. Naruto didn't tell his team how his 'special training' went, but he seemed near completion, if his smile was anything to go by. Naruto spent most of his time in the forests working on his wind manipulation and how to master his mother's 'chakra chains' that she taught him along with a technique that his father was teaching him that involved a water-balloon and popping it with chakra.

"Naruto-kun hasn't been here in nine days…aren't you all worried about him? A child shouldn't be out alone ya know." Tsunami says, showing genuine concern for the blonde.

"I wouldn't worry about him. He may not look like it, but he is a true shinobi." Kakashi says with great pride. Not only that, but he had his nin-ken Pakkun keep track of Naruto or his results and what the nin-ken would report, since he was able to get only the results and not the process, made Kakashi proud to call him his pupil.

'At this rate I'm going to have to teach him the 'Rasengan'.'Kakashi thought with a chuckle.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the Naruto was dead at this point." Sasuke says.

{The next day}

Kakashi watches over Sasuke, who finally is able to recharge at least one battery. After learning how to recharge a battery, Kakashi taught him the 'Lightning Style: Thunder Saber Jutsu', which required collecting large amounts of lightning chakra into the fist. Sakura, after becoming a human wrecking ball, learned the 'Earth Style: Caving Trench Jutsu', which was something, that she learned, Mizuki used often in battle.

Naruto finally returned to Tazuna's house last night and was still asleep, whatever he did drained him. Kakashi was doing one fingered push ups with Tazuna on his back, to make sure his body was right as rain while Sasuke was meditating and Sakura was reading up on Naruto's Bingo Book that she 'borrowed'.

"Naruto…Uzumaki" Inari says, overlooking the ocean from his room.

"196, 197, 198..." Kakashi says, counting every time he does another push up.

"I wanted to ask you earlier but... Why are you still here when I lied to you about this mission?" Tazuna asks Kakashi.

"To abandon your duty is not courageous. Below the courageous, there is nothing. Those are the words of our previous Hokage." Kakashi says sagely.

"*Tsk* more like you didn't want your pupils to show you up and continue the mission." Sasuke jokes, before going back to meditating.

"Either way, that is the way of the shinobi. A true Shinobi doesn't move because of money alone." Kakashi says.

-Back at Zabuza's Hideout-

Zabuza holds an apple in his hand, testing to see if his body was back to normal or not. Crushing the apple in his hand, Zabuza laughs before another apple hits him in the head.

"I'd say you two are better." Haku says with a sigh. After Ameyuri's encounter with Naruto, Haku decided to go for a new look; nothing too distract, just something less feminine. All the hair that was normally in a bun tie was cut off, leaving only the two bangs hanging in front of his face.

"I'll say! That only means one thing." Ameyuri says, licking her lips in anticipation.

"We attack tomorrow…" Zabuza says.

{Later that night}

After learning the Lightning Saber, Sasuke was determined to learn at least one more jutsu. Sakura decided to spend the rest of the night resting for tomorrow. Feeling a bit of shame for not teaching Naruto anything, Kakashi decided to teach the blonde Jinchuriki the 'Wind Style: Great Breakthrough'. Naruto made a 50 Shadow Clones and had them all perform the jutsu, and thanked his sensei for the help. It wasn't much, but it was a step in the right direction; Sasuke wanted to learn the Shadow clone, but Kakashi denied him, telling him the jutsu was a Kinjutsu and could very well kill him. Instead, Kakashi showed him the 'Lightning Style: Senbon' to form three long senbon made of pure electricity. After spending hours training, both Naruto and Sasuke drag themselves into Tazuna's house.

"Oh you guys finally return, and you look like Hell." Tazuna says, as the two genin use each other to support their worn out bodies.

"What can we say? We're both jutsu junkies." Naruto chuckles,

'Look at us, training until we can't move.' Sasuke thought even with him in no better condition.

"All right guys, I suspect tomorrow will be the day. Zabuza and his accomplish have had more than enough time to recover and should attack on the bridge. That means you two will be needed." Kakashi says.

"Oh and thanks for making shadow clone for me to use on the bridge Naruto, at this rate the bridge will be done in a matter of days." Tazuna says happily at seeing the hope of the Wave being restored just within his grasp. Inari looks at Naruto and each time see pictures Kaiza, first he sees his smiling face and then he sees him just before his death; still smiling. Inari begins to cry, no longer being able to hold them back, this doesn't go unnoticed by Naruto.

"What?" Naruto asks, sending Inari over the edge.

"Why do you guys bother to try so hard?! No matter how hard you train, you're still no match for Gato's men! No matter what glorious claims you make or how hard you work, when facing the strong the weak will only end up getting themselves killed!" Inari yells, slamming his hands on the table, shocking everyone into silence. Inari couldn't take it, how dare these foreigners come here and lie to his jiji? No one could defeat Gato!

"You're right in a sense. The weak will lose to the strong, as long as they are weak minded. I'm nothing like you Inari, so don't pretend you know me." Naruto says sagely and coldly at the same time.

"I'd hate to be like you! You don't know anything about Wave Country and yet you're being nosy! I'm different from you; all you do is act cheerful and goofy! You have no idea how hard life can be!" Inari yells.

'Oh boy...'Kakashi thought, seeing something snap in Naruto. Naruto begins involuntarily to emit small traces of Kyuubi's chakra in the form of KI as the entire room is gripped in an oppressive aura.

"I have no idea how hard life can be? I know nothing about Wave Country? I've spent everyday I've been here in the city, giving whatever help I could to the people. You have a home, a family that loves you and yet all you do is cry like a little bitch. There are children younger than you with nothing, not even parents to comfort them. You're weak, because you're too damn afraid to stand up for yourself and because you're weak, you assume nothing can be done. Where I'm from, I'm hated for just being alive. I've had people trying to kill me since day one, people don't let me in their stores and I had to hunt for food until I was adopted at the age of six. So you can keep on crying forever you weakling, I'm going to keep getting stronger; because that's what heroes do." Naruto says, lifting the KI from the room and leaving the house. Inari storms out of the room, bawling and sniveling at wetting himself at the terrifying aura Naruto gave off.

"That kid needed that, I thought Naruto made it clear the last time he talked to him that we're not some royal shinobi who have servants wiping our asses everyday." Sasuke says, before getting up to follow Naruto, while Kakashi follows Inari to talk to him.

-Deep in the forest-

Sasuke arrives at the forest and sees trees cut down and littering the ground. In the center of the destruction, is a panting Naruto, obviously blowing off some steam.

"If you're here to try to get me to apologize save your breathe Sasuke." Naruto says, only for Sasuke to chuckle at him.

"Oh please, if anything I think you did good putting that brat in his place. The kid tried to pull the same speech on you earlier and almost became paralyzed." Sasuke says, causing Naruto to laugh. From there the two spent hours just talking about nothing in general, exchanging a few banters and bit about each other. They were slightly surprised how much in common they were, but that was just one more thing to notice about them.

{The next day}

Team Seven woke up bright and early in order to help Tazuna complete his bridge. Naruto made sure to leave a few Shadow Clones to guard Tsunami and Inari. Once they were at the bridge, they were greeted by the bloody workers. Before they could even ask what happened, a thin layer of mist begins to set in.

'So they are alive...' Kakashi says mentally. Team Seven immediately arm themselves and prepares themselves for battle.

"Long time no see, Kakashi. I see you're still with those brats, looks like the Uchiha is shaking again…poor kid." Zabuza's voice echoes within the mist. From the mist, eight water clones appears around Team Seven, ready to cleave them all in two.

"I'm shaking with excitement." Sasuke says with a smug smirk, before channeling chakra into his feet and slicing and dicing the water clones with Chunin level speeds, before appearing in his previous spot moments later. With the clones dispelled, Zabuza, Haku with his mask on, and a woman appear ready for battle.

"Look like he's grown, looks like you have a rival, eh Haku?" Zabuza asks, only for Haku to scoff.

"Don't insult me Tou-san, the blonde may be a much better rival." Haku taunts, gaining the ire of Sasuke.

"So you were Zabuza's comrade. You should stop hiding behind that mask and face us!" Sasuke says, just itching for a fight. The battle on the bridge was about to commence and unknown to any of them, this battle would change their lives forever...

A/N: Surprise! I made Ameyuri pregnant…next time the battle of the bridge.


	25. Battle of the Bridge: Fates Decided

A/N: This chapter is that famed Battle of the bridge

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking'  
"Jutsu/Technique"

-On the Bridge-

Zabuza makes more water clones and sends them out to attack only for Sasuke and Naruto to dispel them. Looking over the woman Naruto starts to rack his brain on who she looked like that he met before.

"Tricking us with this jutsu again? I'm starting hate bastards like that the most." Sasuke says.

'Oh Sasuke kun, you're so cool!' Sakura screams inside her head; unable to get rid of that fan-girl in her.

"You do realize it's a shinobi's job to trick their opponent right? I mean if you hate such a simple trick, then you must really hate 'Substitutions' or the 'Shadow Clone Jutsu'." Naruto says.

"I'm not going to lie…I do kinda hate those two jutsu…but your right, a shinobi shouldn't fight head on, not without deception added." Sasuke says, Naruto just sighs and nods while Sakura steams at Naruto changing Sasuke. It completely clashes with her way of thinking; which was to defeat your enemy so they could see your jutsu and skills.

"Well that was impressive, even though water clones only have 1/10 the strength of the original." Zabuza says.

"I don't know Zabuza-kun, Kiba is tingling for the Uzumaki! He must have an awful lot of electrons in his body!" Ameyuri says, the Kiba both vibrate intensely as she points them at Naruto, then Sakura, causing the Kiba wail in seeming agony,

"Kiba hates pink, I'll leave her to you two. Come on Uzumaki-kun, Kiba wants the electricity in your body!" Ameyuri says, baring her fangs at them, before disappearing in splash of water. Naruto sighs as he finally remembers who Ameyuri was and how he met her in the forest and rushes off knowing that he needs to stop her and not harm her at all. This was going to be a pain for him.

"Still, we have the advantage, go!" Zabuza commands.

"Yes!" Haku says, using the moisture from the mist to spin rapidly towards Sasuke with a senbon. Excited as he was, Sasuke pumps chakra into his legs and dashes in front of Naruto just in time to clash a kunai with Haku's Senbon causing both to struggle for dominance. Sakura stands still and watches what happens.

"Sakura! Take Tazuna away from the fight NOW! " Kakashi shouts, before he appears in front of Zabuza with a kunai ready. Zabuza uses his Kubikiribocho to defend, slightly impressed with Sasuke's increased speed. "Sakura, stay as far away from the battle as possible, we'll leave him to Sasuke." Kakashi says, feeling Zabuza's huge blade overpower his kunai. Zabuza can feel Kakashi getting weaker under the pressure of his blade, adding chakra to his arms, Zabuza cuts the kunai and Kakashi in half, only for Kakashi to burst into smoke and reveals a piece of the bridge.

"If you don't want to die, stand down now." Haku says, holding a one hand seal to focus chakra into his arms. Sasuke, applying what he learned with the elemental chakra; channels chakra into his arm so he was to not be overpowered by Haku.

"Don't be so confident I want to push myself." Sasuke says.

"I see pride in your eyes, but I already have two advantages over you." Haku says, deciding to get into the Uchiha's head.

"Two advantages?" Sasuke asks.

"The first is the water on the ground; the second is I have occupied one of your arms. Now all you can do is run like a scared little rabbit." Haku says, before he flashes through one handed seals.

_"What, one hand, I've never even heard of that?!"_ Sasuke says, too shocked to even think of countering. Even Kakashi was shocked at one handed seals!

"Run little rabbit…Secret Technique: One Thousand Needles of Death!" Haku roars, stomping his foot on a puddle of water. The splashing water morphs into long needles of condensed water that rush Sasuke as Haku back flips out of the way. Sasuke, Kakashi and Sakura look in shock as the needles surround Sasuke from every angle, preventing his escape.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screams in horror. Sasuke channels chakra to his legs before he leaps into the air as the needles crash in a shower of water.

"He's gone." Haku says, before he hears shuriken racing towards him and does three back-flips in order to dodge the three projectiles, before he hears a shuriken strike the railing.

"You're pretty good." Sasuke says. The training was paying off big time! Sasuke uses his left arm to stab Haku in the side, but Haku ducks under the blow. Sasuke capitalizes with his right arm to slash at Haku, but Haku blocks with his forearm; using his years of shurikenjutsu training, he throws the kunai at Haku's head. Haku ducks under it, only to walk right into Sasuke's thrust kick. Haku is sent skeeting across the ground at Zabuza's feet.

"What?! Haku lost in speed?" Zabuza says, not even he could keep up with Haku when he was serious.

"I can't have you underestimating my team by calling them brats. Sasuke was runner up for rookie of the year. Sakura is one of our brightest and I don't need to say much about the other one; after all you put him in your little handbook." Kakashi says. To the team's surprise, Zabuza begins to laughl maybe he's finally snapped?

"Haku, stop feeding the kid's ego and finish him. The bridge builder is getting further away." Zabuza says, swinging his sword at Kakashi, who has to use two kunai in an 'X' guard to defend.

"We can't have that now can we?" Haku says, unleashing his chakra in a chilling aura.

"What's this chill?" Sasuke asks, feeling his body shake from the sheer cold in the atmosphere, giving him goose-bumps! Haku forms a unknown hand seal, before crystalizing his chakra into the form of mirrors of ice that surround Sasuke in a dome of twenty-one floating mirrors made out of ice. Twelve remain at ground level, eight float above the first twelve and angled toward the ground, and the final mirror is above the rest and facing the ground.

"Crystal Ice Mirrors!" Haku roars, completely sealing Sasuke from view. Haku enters one of the mirrors as his reflection is shown in all the mirrors, from front to back!

"Dammit!" Kakashi says running to Sasuke, only to be blocked by Zabuza.

"Hey, your opponent is me, besides against that jutsu, the brat's dead!" Zabuza says, rising his sword overhead for a heavy slam down on Kakashi, who just dodges as the blade digs into the bridge.

"Well shall I begin?" Haku asks seemingly from every direction.

"W-what are these mirrors?" Sasuke asks in fear.

"I'll show you my real speed..." Haku says, before preparing his attack. In less than a second, Sasuke feels something slash against his right shoulder. He grunts in pain, but that's nothing compared to what he felt a second later.

"AHHHHH!" Sasuke roars in sheer agony. From every angle he could think of, he was being slashed by Haku, or Hakus he couldn't tell! The teen was moving so fast it felt like he was coming from everywhere!

"Sasuke!" Kakashi screams, smelling the Uchiha's blood being spilled. No matter how much he wanted to rush to Sasuke's side...

"If you get by me, then I'll look for the girl and bridge builder!" Zabuza says, swinging his mighty blade to cleave Kakashi in two! Kakashi jumps over the blade and tosses a set of shuriken at Zabuza, who is forced to jump back in order to evade.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screams, hearing the Uchiha's screams of torment. She could hear the blood splatter, the sound of metal cutting flesh; it was driving her insane! Pulling a kunai from her thigh holster, Sakura jumps into the air and throws her kunai at one of the mirrors. Haku exits his head and hand out of the mirror and catches the kunai effortlessly.

"He blocked it!" Sakura panics.

'Foolish girl, did she really...!' Haku thinks, before he senses a wind jutsu soaring towards him! A small whirlwind like ball sails and nails Haku in the face, forcing him out of the mirror and clear across the bridge. Appearing in a whirlwind just outside the ice mirrors, Naruto appears with a goofy smile.

"Looks like I still need to work on the 'Wind Release: Whirlwind Ball'." Naruto says to himself. A fully powered whirlwind should have taken the boy's head clear off her shoulders!

"That baka…Show off…now isn't the time for games…" Sasuke grunts, trying to pick himself off the bloodied floor.

"So you're the Hinter-nin that was with Zabubza? Well, boss is taking care of 'Kaa-chan' right now." Naruto says, glad to see Haku looking at him like he was crazy.

[Back with Ameyuri and Naruto]

"Please Ameyuri…stop fighting! I don't want to hurt you or you child!" Naruto begs and waits for Ameyuri's response.

"Sorry Naruto, but Water Prison Jutsu" Ameyuri says, surrounding herself in a sphere of water. Once inside the jutsu, Ameyuri unleashes lightning from her Kiba as the water is ignited in lightning; sending bolts of electricity into her body. Instead of scream in pain, Ameyuri looks down. "Storm Style: Storm Dragon Whip." Ameyuri says, pointing her Kiba at both Naruto. From the Kiba tips, bolts of lightning surge through the water sphere and form tendrils of living electricity in the form of energy beams that shoot towards a shocked the Genin, who had to back flip to dodge. To his amazement, the energy beam doesn't stop and instead flows like water and chases him down!

'She just had to have blades of lightning! What's worse it's a Sub-element!' Naruto thought, using a substitution with bridge material to replace himself just in time to avoid being hit with the energy beam. Inside the prison, Ameyuri frowns as the electricity coursed inside the water sphere, like a plasma globe, with Ameyuri as the high-voltage electrode. Several more tendrils shoot from the water sphere and race forward and stab Naruto, only for him to substitute with one of his clones. The clone is not only cut through, but its electrons are drained from its body. Before Naruto could use another substitution, one of the tendrils grabs a hold his leg and slams him on the ground.

Naruto feels the electricity course through his body. A clone dodges a swarm of tendrils and tosses a wind shuriken at the tendril around Naruto's leg, which is cut but doesn't stay detached for long. Naruto uses the lapse to substitute with floor tile from the bridge.

"Shit, just getting touched by it can drain you dry! I have to finish this without hurting her…" Naruto says to himself. "Alright, I need you to distract her while I prepare my jutsu!" Naruto commands.

"Are you insane? That chick can make lightning move like freaking water! We're all just clones!" One of the clones shouted, only for a tendril to slam on him before he can move and drains him while shocking him intensely causing him to dispel. Naruto just watched and jumped back to gain some distance and get ready.

"It's strong against water though! Her sub-element is a combination of water and lightning, my wind is strong against lightning and all we're missing is earth, now go!" Naruto shouts, sending his clones right at Ameyuri.

"Storm Release: Flood & Storm." Ameyuri says, as halos of bright energy spread around the water prison before a sea of energy beams shoot from the halos and form a tidal wave of energy beams that crash towards the clones. The wave washes over them and completely crumbles their defenses. Naruto making more shadow clones, blows a hole in the bridge and falls through it before the waves can get to him. Ameyuri directs half of the wave at the original, and the rest at the clones. The clones did their best to dodge the wave, but the tendrils impale to them and breaks the bridge making even more obstacles for the real Naruto to dodge. The tendrils prove too fast for him, managing to cut and strike him on various parts of the body.

"You're real fast for a wind user, but don't think I'll let that you get an advantage!" Ameyuri says, sending a tendril crashing towards the floor, where Naruto is going through hand seals and can't stop mid seal. The clones start to gather and take the hit for him.

"Shit, the lightning keeps neutralizing my clones!" Naruto says to himself. Naruto unseals his kitsune mask signaling that he was getting serious. Ameyuri just scoffs and sends a tendril to him and watches as it impales him. What she didn't know was that Naruto had activated his eyes and was studying her at the same time.

'MUSUKO!' Kushina and Minato yell inside the seal, watching as blood pours from his back. In the seal Kurama begins to gather her chakra and send it out to Naruto and any of his clones.

[With Sasuke and Kakashi]

Haku is inside one of his ice mirrors, separated from the dome Sasuke was trapped in. Haku was trying to get back inside ice dome, only every time he tried, Naruto's clone would try to hit him with a wind shuriken.

"If you won't come out, I'll just have to break those mirrors, 'Enhanced _Wind Style: Wind Shuriken_'." Naruto chants mentally, forming a shuriken made of wind as he tosses it at the mirror Haku is in. Instead of leaping out, Haku stays in the mirror and focuses his chakra to reinforce the mirror. The wind shuriken strikes against the mirror and disappears, but not without some damage. Haku relaxes his guard, only for a real shuriken to strike him in the mask, shattering the mirror and freeing Haku from it. Zabuza throws shuriken at Naruto only for Haku to deflect them with Senbon.

"Haku, what is this?" Zabuza asks.

"Tou-san…Leave these two to me. I wish to fight them my own way. Besides…this is the one that Kaa-chan met in the forest." Haku says, a crack forms in his mask, but it stays together.

"*Tsk* you're as soft as ever, Haku." Zabuza says.

'Soft? He's right, attacking with needles, yet not aiming them at high damage areas.' Sasuke says mentally, looking at the wounds on his body. Sure, his body was riddled with cuts, but not anywhere lethal. "Well at least Naruto has him outside; it'll give me time to rest." With that thought, Sasuke rests on the ground, making sure not to lose consciousness. Haku summons several ice mirrors around Naruto, before entering one of them. Giving Naruto a taste of his Hidden Jutsu, Haku attacks him from all sides at speeds not even he could reach easily! His body was being littered with slashes so fast, even Kurama can't heal them fast enough for the clone.

'What the hell, he's moving too fast for even the wind to keep up! What kind of jutsu is this?!' The clone thought and was glad it was reinforced with chakra to take a hit more that the others.

"Crystal Ice Mirrors: Murder!" Haku roars, his speeds gaining speed, slashing Naruto at an accelerated rate! The dome around Naruto begins to float in the air over the prison Sasuke is in.

'Dammit, Naruto is trapped and Sakura is standing there like a civilian with Tazuna!' Sasuke shouts mentally, watching as Naruto is slashed just above him. Haku turns the mirrors into crystallized chakra Senbon and launches them at Naruto, as he jumps to escape being hurt.

"Damn my arms, I need some power!" Naruto says, since his arms were too shredded to move. Kurama sends a burst out to heal all of the clone's wounds as well as enhance its Jutsu for a bit.

"Fire Style: Six Dragons jutsu!" Naruto roars, pumping his chakra into his lungs and fires the six fireball at the frozen death, melting them on contact.

"What kind of jutsu..." Sasuke asks stunned in silence. Haku is also shocked, but notices Naruto falling into the dome Sasuke's trapped inside. Naruto can't stop his momentum and ends up trapped inside with Sasuke.

"Hey, I came to save you..." Naruto groans.

"You really are a surprise, I guess it can't be helped now…" Sasuke says at 'Naruto'.

"This is the thanks I get for coming to save your?" Naruto jokes, despite his pain. Kakashi stands between Sakura and a bloody death at the hands of Zabuza, if he left to help Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura and maybe even Tazuna would die. A Shadow clone would be a waste of chakra, since Zabuza would just use Water clone to chase it down. Haku enters one of the mirrors and appears everywhere inside, looking at Naruto and Sasuke intensely.

'So he uses the mirrors to reflect his image on every mirror, then travels through each mirror at the speed of freaking light! That means this speed is a mixture between Ice Release and something that he has on his body to move so quickly…son of a bitch…' Naruto says mentally. Most of his wounds were healed and he was soon rising to his feet, even helping Sasuke up.

"Since this jutsu seemed to be made of ice, I'll just melt them!" Sasuke says, going through hand seals.

Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke roars, shooting a continuous stream of fire at one of the mirrors. Letting the flames flow for about a while, Sasuke stops his jutsu and lets the flames die down, only to see the mirror completely unharmed. "Well that didn't do anything!"

"You can't melt this ice with that level of fire."

"That's because this is more than ice. It's a kekkei genkai, something that combines Wind Chakra and Water Chakra into Ice Chakra. These mirrors are that crystallized chakra except in the shape of mirrors, I think he's also using some kind of technique to move so fast." Naruto says, shocking Sasuke and Haku.

"He figured my jutsu so quickly, he is too dangerous to be left alive..." Haku says, not wanting to have to kill the blonde.

"That's great and all, but how do we defeat him?" Sasuke asks.

"You don't..." Haku says, before he travels through the mirrors at the speed of light, slashing and cutting Naruto and Sasuke to ribbons. The clone tries to add Kurama's chakra to his eyes to enhance them, but not even that is enough!

"Trying to follow them with your eyes is impossible. You will never be able to catch me." Haku says, while attacking Naruto and Sasuke at the speed of light.

"Damn…!" Naruto says, gathering wind chakra into a whirlwind around his fists before thrusting at the mirrors. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" The clone shouts, just moments from impact, only for Haku to travel through the mirrors and knock him off balance before he can strike. The winds from the jutsu explode in razor sharp gusts of wind that only adds to Sasuke and Naruto's torture!

[With the real Naruto]

"Ahgg!" Naruto sees the blood gush from his back and electrons travel back to Ameyuri.

"Kiba is thrilled to finally get a taste of...!" Ameyuri says, that is until the traveling electrons burst into smoke and reveal Naruto, who lands on the surface of the water prison and gathers massive amounts of wind in his hands.

'Wind Style: Hidden Fist!' Naruto chants mentally, slamming both of his hands on the water and covering it in wind. Inside, Ameyuri uses her Kiba to send electricity outside the prison to dispel its Jutsu, but loses her jutsu and realizes that it was against wind.

"Damn, he must have used substitution with his shadow and used a genjutsu on his clone to make me think he bled and transformed into electricity to throw me off; that's easily High Chunin strategy." Ameyuri says to herself mentally, before she sees Naruto finishing his hand seals from above her.

"Binding Arts: Chakra Chain Prison!" Naruto roars, slamming his palm on the ground, a plume of smoke erupts and reveals chains that shoot from the ground. Naruto sends them out like snakes, but Ameyuri won't let herself get captured.

"Fangs of Lightning!" Ameyuri roars, launching two bolts of lightning at the chains, only for them to stop and soar to the sky and explode. The lightning strikes chains and electrifies them as they race towards Ameyuri.

"Well, well, well, what nice toys you have. Chakra conducting metal, with the chains being able to emit elemental chakra…" Ameyuri says before getting into a battle stance. Ameyuri and Naruto disappear with a splash of water and speed, before they met in the center of a clash, Naruto's kodachi, countered by Ameyuri's Kiba blades. Thanks to Naruto's wind affinity that was channeled through the blades, the lightning from Ameyuri's Kiba didn't shock him, but he was cut by Ameyuri's superior kenjutsu skills. Sparks fly as the two continued to clash, Ameyuri getting the upper hand with her Kiba slashing Naruto's mask and face.

"Fire Style: Senbon Burst!" Naruto shouts, taking in a deep breathe as he exhales and throws Senbon; the fire fused with the needles and went straight at Ameyuri. Then gusts of wind started to carry the attack and Ameyuri at an accelerated rate.

[Back Sasuke]

'If fire won't work...' Sasuke ponders before going through hand seals. "Let's trying this! Thunder Sabre!" Sasuke roars, gathering large amount of lightning chakra into his fist and dashes towards one of the ice mirrors. Haku separates the wind from one of the mirrors and uses it to dispel the Saber and cuts Sasuke's wrists and hands up severely.

"I told you it's a mixture of water and wind, wind trumps lightning automatically!" Naruto shouts.

"Who shall survive, I wonder? This bridge is a battle field of dreams, whose dream will survive and whose will die?" Haku asks. Naruto and Sasuke use the time he's given them by talking to restore some of their strength and think of a plan. "You can hate me if you wish. My dream is to protect people who are precious to me; to work for those people, to fight for those people. I wish to make their dreams come true. For that, I have become a shinobi and as a shinobi, I must kill you both." Haku says.

"That's bull! That's not a dream, it's nothing more than slavery! If these people were worth all you've done, then they would want you to live your own life!" Naruto declares, causing Haku to halt his attack. "I don't want to kill you, Zabuza, or Ameyuri and I know you don't either. You could have killed Sasuke a while ago, but you spared him! You have a good heart, why not join us?" Naruto asks. Remembering what he told his father about turning an enemy into a friend.

"I'm sorry…that's just not possible…" Haku says, before he begins his assault on the two Genin once more, earning screams of agony from Sasuke. Despite the pain, Naruto manages to keep calm and tries to follow Haku's blurred movement. Kakashi was running out of time! He knew that it was only a matter of time before Haku finished off Naruto and Sasuke. Realizing now was the time to get serious, Kakashi goes to lift up his headband.

"The Sharingan again Kakashi, can't you do anything else?" Zabuza asks, before he rushes Kakashi with a kunai. Kakashi, caught off guard, uses his free hand to grab the kunai as it digs into his hand, spilling drops of his blood on the bridge. "A shinobi's supreme jutsu isn't something that showed be shown over and over again." Zabuza says, trying to drive the kunai deeper into Kakashi's hand.

"You should feel honored, since you're the only person to see it twice. Though, there won't be a third time." Kakashi says.

"Even if you defeat me, there's no way you can beat Haku and Ameyuri..." Zabuza says with a chuckle.

"Sensei…Kakashi-sensei is losing against that man? Is he really that strong?" Sakura panics, her hands and legs turn to jelly as they shake.

"Ever since Haku was a kid, Ameyuri and I taught him all kinds of fighting skills. Even when facing the greatest adversity, he has succeeded. Without a heart and no fear of death, a fighting machine known as shinobi is created. And his jutsu surpass my own, the terrifying abilities of a kekkei genkai. I have myself a high quality tool, unlike the scrap that follows you around." Zabuza says, freeing his kunai from Kakashi's hand.

"There's nothing as boring as a man's bragging, let's get started." Kakashi says with a swirling Sharingan.

"Hold on a minute! I've been dying to say this, *clears his throat* I'll tell you this, the same jutsu won't work on me twice!" Zabuza says, mocking Kakashi's words.

"Ninja art: Hidden Mist Technique" Zabuza says, unleashing a mist so thick, that Zabuza seemingly disappears.

"I know the secret to your little eye Kakashi! You can't copy, what you can't see!" Zabuza's voice echoes throughout the mist...

[With Naruto]

Ameyuri dodges the Senbon in her jump she can see a thick mist form and completely disappears as she frowns.

"I can always count on Zabuza-kun to help me out, Water Clone jutsu!" Ameyuri says, creating ten water clones of herself before they each commit Hara-kiri with the electrifying Kiba. "Storm Release Shadow Clone!" Naruto prepares for a battle as he regains chakra through a seal that was on his left hand, covered by the Kodachi handle that was in it. Some clones buy him time, engaging Ameyuri in another kenjutsu battle as their weapons met in a shower of sparks. Ameyuri ducks under one of the clone's swipes and thrust kicks herself away.

"Storm Release: Plasma Ball!" Ameyuri roars, gathering lightning between the Kiba and mixing it with the mist to form a whitish blue energy ball and launching it at the small army. The energy ball strikes the clones that disappear in puffs of smoke. "Storm Release: Plasma Shower!" Ameyuri shouts, gathering massive amounts of lightning between her Kiba and unleashing small balls of energy at Naruto. The attack lands but Naruto remains unharmed as he begins to get up.

"Earth Release: Earth spikes!" Naruto yells, before spikes shoot from the bridge and aims it at Ameyuri. "Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!" Naruto shouts taking a deep breath and then exhales several small blasts of wind chakra in such a manner that they are dispersed over an expansive range, enough to make it difficult to avoid them entirely without taking any damage. Four of the Ameyuri's clones rush at the incoming winds and upon impact, bursts into beams of energy. The mixture of water and lightning overwhelm the wind, rendering it useless.

"Storm Gathering Python!" Ameyuri roars, causing the remaining clones to merge into a large gorgon snake with a gaping mouth that tries to devour Naruto. She didn't notice that Naruto's eyes had changed and that he was studying her chakra coils the entire fight watching the poison spread every time she used the Kiba.

"Wind Style: Winds from the Mountain!" Naruto says, unleashing a vortex of wind that blasts the Python apart, only for it to reform. Ameyuri was about to say something, but a pain immediately takes her over that stops her Jutsu entirely. Naruto, takes advantage of that and rushes forward with a tag that he lands and channels chakra to it like before taking out the poison that was coursing in Ameyuri as well as stop the flow for a bit. "It'd be a shame to kill such a skilled kunoichi, so here's what we're gonna do..." Naruto says, causing Ameyuri to look up tired and drained for no reason; she was at his complete mercy...

[With Sasuke and Kakashi]

"He's beginning to slow down, that means he's running low on chakra!" Sasuke says, preparing himself for the next onslaught. Meanwhile, Kakashi was busy deflecting Zabuza's attacks. The mist was so thick, he couldn't even see his own hand! He knew Zabuza was just as blind as he was, but Zabuza was a master of Silent Killing.

"It's impressive that you blocked those attacks even in the mist Kakashi." Zabuza says from behind him, shocking said man. Upon further inspection, Kakashi sees that Zabuza's eyes are closed, meaning he can't read his movements through the mist.

"But the next time you see me, it will be your end. You have overrated your Sharingan too much..." Zabuza says, before he vanishes in the mist. Kakashi scans his surroundings, but can't seem to locate Zabuza anywhere!

"You acted as if you knew everything, saying you predicted my death, but you were wrong. I had Haku watch our little match; he's pretty bright. The Sharingan is basically an eye technique involving hypnotism and an attention for detail. By using the two abilities together, you can process from copying the mind to copying the mind to copying the jutsu. This is the dance that makes it seem like you can see the future." Zabuza explains. Without warning, Zabuza attacks Kakashi in the mist, Kakashi defends at the last minute and slides across the ground. Kakashi tries to relax and think about where Zabuza would attack next...

"So the blonde kid hid the bridge builder through Invisibility, clever…but not clever enough!" Zabuza says to himself, hearing Tazuna's frantic breathing. Kakashi soon figured out where Zabuza was going, thanks to Kakashi's sense of smell; once his sight was taken away, he went to his sense of smell. Zabuza swings his sword down on Tazuna, only for Kakashi to appear, but it was too late to defend properly. Sakura screams, seeing the blood gush from Kakashi. Inside the dome, Haku was aiming for critical areas of their bodies. Surprisingly, Sasuke and even Naruto were able to dodge some of his attacks at the last minute.

'Calm down, concentrate and see through it!' Sasuke roars mentally, until something within him awakens! Sasuke can clearly see Haku glide in the air as he tried to slash at Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke quickly, grabs Naruto and moves out of the way just in time.

"What?! He saw through my attack coming?! Impossible, wait a minute…those red eyes…it's the Sharingan!" Haku says to herself.

"I see, so you also have a kekkei genkai. In that case, I have to finish this." Haku says before performing a half hand seal. The mirrors around Naruto shift into ice senbon, hovering lethally above him. Haku had struck Naruto in pressure points in his legs, rendering them useless, and the healing process was slow due to the senbon still lodged in them.

'What?! He's aiming for Naruto? Shit, I have to make it!' Sasuke panics and hesitates for a second, before he makes up his mind. "Allowing my comrades to die... I'd be no better than Itachi!" Sasuke says before he dashes towards Naruto, just as the ice Senbon crash down on Naruto!

[With Kakashi]

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura screams, rushing to Tazuna's side, holding her kunai in a defensive position in front of her. Kakashi grunts, blood leaks from the gash across his torso.

"You were too slow Kakashi. Did your desire to save these weaklings cloud your mind and make the mist thicker?" Zabuza taunts satisfied either way; Kakashi was nothing without the Sharingan!

"Let me enjoy this more Kakashi…I want more fun as I return the favor. Don't worry about those brats I'm sure Haku has killed them! Not to mention Ameyuri, who is probably taking the corpse of that Uzumaki as we speak! Don't worry though, I'll send you to them and you can apologize in the next world for not being strong enough to protect them!" Zabuza says with an insane cackle!

"You're wrong!" Sakura screams.

**"YEAH! SASUKE-KUN WOULDN'T LOSE TO A GUY LIKE THAT!"** Inner Sakura screams in agreement!

"That's right, I believe in my pupils. I believe in Naruto's determination and skill and Sasuke is an offspring of one of Konoha's most outstanding clans. Not to mention that both can rely on each other in a fight." Kakashi says.

"You mean..." Zabuza says, realization dawning on him, just who Sasuke could have been.

"Yeah, his name is Sasuke Uchiha who holds the blood of the Uchiha clan his veins." Kakashi says.

"So he's a member of that tragic clan, still the same could be said for Haku! Which is stronger, the Sharingan or the Ice Style of the Yuki clan?" Zabuza asks, disappearing back into the mist.

"Damn he's disappeared again, Sakura stay by Tazuna! It's about time I end this." Kakashi commands. Sakura stands by at the ready, her senses on high alert. "Can you hear me Zabuza, you seem to think I survived in this world with the Sharingan alone. I am an Ex-ANBU Black Ops, what kind of Shinobi would I be if I relied on the Sharingan? I'll show you me my own jutsu." Kakashi says, pulling a scroll from one of the pockets of his flak jacket.

[With Naruto]

Naruto was carrying Ameyuri bridal Style with the Kiba on his back as he explains why she was being poisoned as his clone dispelled and replayed the events that happened. Naruto stopped and started to growl before he spoke…

"Sorry Ameyuri-Sama…but Haku needs to pay…" With that Naruto ran off into the mist. His teeth enlarge to fangs as his face extends like a fox, his whisker marks become real whiskers, his finger nails become claws, spike blonde became more feral and his once sapphire eyes, burned ruby red with a black slitted pupil. The initial stage of the Kurama's transformation, this was what jumped into the mirrors and stood between Sasuke and Haku

-Inside the Seal-

Kushina was currently holding Kurama down with her chains while Minato was distracting her. Kurama had instantly gone wild and started to attack the two before she transformed into her full Tailed-Beast state. Kushina instantly realized that Naruto was forcible taking Kurama's chakra and was causing her to act more wild.

"Kushina-koi! How long do we have to keep this up!?" Kushina looked up to see Minato forming a Rasengan in his hands and started to charge forward. That was until Kushina's chains wrapped around his body and effectively stopped him.

"Minato don't! Naruto is forcible taking chakra from Kurama and is using it. If we attack her now then that connection will be severed and Naruto will likely suffer from it more that he is now! Whatever you do DON'T hurt Kurama until she stops and Naruto stops taking her chakra!" Minato looked towards his wife and was about to argue, but realizing that she had first-hand experience with being a Jinchuriki, Minato let it go and started to distract Kurama again.

-Outside the Seal-

Haku stared at the scene in utter fear, never having experienced such dreadful and malicious chakra.

"Wha...What is this chakra?!" Haku panics. Naruto stands on all fours, letting out a menacing growl as he glares at Haku. Haku watches in awe as Naruto heals Sasuke almost instantly with his chakra. "What is this boy? His healed this teammate's wounds almost instantly and his chakra took on such an evil and oppressive aura!" Even Zabuza and Kakashi tremble at the might of Naruto's new form, feeling more than seeing it.

'NO! This terrible chakra…No Naruto! The seal must be weakening and unleashing the Kyubi's Chakra!' Kakashi panics, recognizing the dreadful power of Kyubi.

'Something's not right... This chakra is too thick to be normally, I can't see it leak out of the prison... Dammit, get out of there Haku!' Zabuza worries. Kakashi throws the scroll in the air as it opens, then Kakashi uses the blood from his wound and wipes it across the scroll paper.

"Zabuza can you hear me?... Neither of us has time to waste... This might not be your style, but let's end this!" Kakashi says, twirling his scroll around before closing it and performs a hand seal with the scroll in hand.

"Hmm sounds interesting... Show me what you can do Kakashi!" Zabuza yells.

-Inside the Dome-

Naruto begins to draw in the surrounding winds and even the wind chakra from Haku's mirrors.

"What!? he's able to take the wind chakra from my mirrors! They're getting thinner and thinner by the second." Haku says to his self. With one last howl, Naruto uses the winds in his hind legs to launch himself at an accelerated rate. Haku prepares himself as he tosses Senbon at Naruto. Naruto just roars, unleashing a shock wave of chakra to deflect the senbon. In his state, Naruto's chakra completely blends with the wind inside the dome, allowing him to sense Haku coming down from above to stab him. Naruto does a mid air barrel roll to avoid Haku's strike. Haku tries to enter another mirror, but he's caught mid flight by Naruto. Naruto roars, the once clockwise rotation of whirling chakra stops and spins counter clockwise, unleashing deadly burst of fire that scorches Haku and sends him flying through one of his mirrors as it shatters. Before Haku can even hit the ground,

Naruto roars again, launching a fist of blood red whirling winds that slam into Haku's face; destroying his mask and breaking his nose and cracking his skull. The mirrors crack and shatter as Zabuza and Kakashi look in shock at Haku's defeated form. Looking at the now shattered dome, they look in horror as the transformed genin; more oni than man.

"Is that... Naruto? Has the Kyubi completely taken him over?" Kakashi asks, completely shocked at Naruto's initial state. Haku barely rises to his feet, blood pours from his mouth and head.

"I cannot defeat this boy..." Haku says, watching as Naruto prepared to another attack. Haku could feel his shattered ribs from the last blow, his broken arms and ankle and cracked skull, his low chakra supply; he was no match for Naruto. In a blink of the eye, Naruto appears in front of Haku, with another punch ready to destroy the rest o his skull. Naruto wasn't completely blinded by rage, he was ready to end Haku, for killing Sasuke! He was a comrade! He was just inches away, when he hears Sasuke breathing, stopping him in his tracks. Dispelling his cloak, Naruto begins to calm, everything cancels as he reverts back to normal.

"Why did you stop..." Haku asks, his eyes and voice both dead. "I killed someone important to you." Haku says, only to be rewarded with a right hook to the face.

"Shut up... I can hear that Sasuke is breathing… but you don't have to do this Haku. I know you're a good person! I…I can see your soul. I can see a soul as pure as ice itself, a soul who is as gentle as the wind and water. I can also see Zabuza's soul. It is as dark as the deepest abyss of the ocean, but I know he cares about you. He wouldn't want this, for you to simply die!" Naruto explains.

"This is all I can do for him. He saved me, when I had nothing... Allow me to share with you, my life's story." Haku begins, only for Naruto to cut him off.

"Save it. I just need help with my teammate right now" Naruto says. Haku chuckles a bit, but nods his

"But now that I am broken, a useless tool…Naruto-san…Please…Just kill." Haku begs much to Naruto's shock.

[With Kakashi]

"Summoning Art: Earth Style: Tracking Fang Technique!" Kakashi proclaims, slamming the scroll on the ground as seal-array buries deep into the ground.

"Whatever you do is useless. You can't figure out where I am, but I know exactly where you are!" Zabuza says through the mist; until he hears rumbling from the ground near him. Before he can do anything, eight nin-kens erupt from the ground and sink their fangs into Zabuza. The biggest of the pack, a black pit bull bites into his shoulder and restrains his arms, allowing another spiky haired dog to bit into his forearm. A miniature pug hangs from the cloth from Zabuza's headband, four dogs pin his legs and one dog pins the Kubikiribocho by its hole.

"That's what happens when you have your eyes shut in the mist. This summoning is a specialty for tracking down an opponent. You thought you caught me off guard with your little 'surprise' attack on Tazuna? I let you cut me, why do you think my wound isn't so deep; the Kubikiribocho is a massive blade. The reason I purposely let my blood spill twice was to soak your weapons in my blood. They are my own personal nin-ken, whose sense of smell is better than even the Inuzuka's nin-ken. You are the one trapped in my jutsu." Kakashi explains. With Zabuza restrained, the mist begins to clear, as Kakashi glares his Sharingan into Zabuza's eyes. "Your ambition was too great. You abandoned the country of mist and became a nuke-nin; your story reached even Konohagakure. Your attempted Coup and your attempt at assassinating the Mizukage both failed. You needed money for revenge, and you also needed to avoid hunter-nin, that's probably when you attached yourself to scum like Gato." Kakashi says before channeling high levels of lightning Chakra around him, before focusing it into his hand.

'What!? Chakra so massive you can see him hold it in his hand!' Zabuza panics.

"You are too dangerous, Tazuna, who you're trying to kill, is the Wave's courage. The Bridge he seeks to build is this country's hope. Your ambition sacrifices too many people and that isn't what a shinobi should do." Kakashi says, holding a flaring Lightning Blade in his hand. "I'll ask one more time, surrender or I'll kill you and your accomplice." Kakashi warns.

[With Naruto]

"Why are you hesitating…I said kill me…Please." Haku says.

"I don't understand! Is Zabuza the only reason for you to be strong? Is being strong the only reason for you to live?!" Naruto asks.

"…The day Kaa-chan met you in the forest and told me about you... I thought you were just like me... You should be able to understand." Haku says. Naruto lowers his head, knowing what he had to do... Forming a Wind shuriken in his hand, Naruto gets ready to launch it.

"Please fulfill your dreams..." Haku says.

"You had dreams... If we had met under different circumstances, we could have been friends." Naruto says, before he lifts his wind shuriken; for the first time regretting having to kill an enemy.

"Hey the mist is clearing! I can see two figures, something is cutting through the mist!" Sakura says, trying to see through the thinning mist. Haku can see Zabuza pinned down and Kakashi rushes him with a high level lightning jutsu ready to kill him. At the last second, Naruto throws the wind shuriken and does a set of one handed seals, forms a single mirror and uses it to warp to Zabuza.

"KAKASHI DON'T!" Naruto calls out. Zabuza hears Naruto's call and watches as Naruto appears in an ice mirror like Haku and blow Kakashi back from Zabuza, effectively saving him.

"Zabuza-kun!" Ameyuri calls, being held on a man's shoulders. Catching everyone's attention to turn and see Gato

"Hehehe looks like you're getting your ass kicked." Gato says, along with an army of bandits with all manners of weapons.

"Gato why are you here?...And what's with all these idiots?" Zabuza asks.

"Hehe the plan has changed... Well actually, I planned to do this from the beginning." Gato admits with a sick grin.

"I never planned on paying you any money, I planned to kill you, right boys?" Gato asks as his bandits cheer him on. "Hiring shinobi from villages is too expensive and they may betray you... So I get nuke-nin who are easier to dispose of. I have the shinobi battle each other and once they're weakened I kill them off with numbers... It doesn't cost me anything, good plan right?" Gatou asks with a chuckle.

"We can easily kill you now, demon!" the crowd roars.

"Alright enough of this shit." Naruto says, Channeling chakra to his kodachi and pulling out the Shinigami's blade see's the side with 'Condemned' facing towards him. Activating his eyes Naruto forms a hand seal and covers the entire bridge with smoke. As it clears Gato stops laughing as he see Naruto all over the bridge; all of them having lightning exiting from their Kodachi. Racing forward Naruto closes his eyes and blocks out the sound as he and his clones rush forward cutting all the bandits down like butter.

"Lightning Style Weapon Dance: One Thousand Birds!" Everyone watches as the army of clones easily cut through the clones and make their way to Gato. Said man was trying to run away, but was grabbed by the back of his collar be Ameyuri who grabbed one of Naruto's blades after he dropped it when he was done and puked over the railing.

"Please... I... I'll pay you, I'll double, no triple it!" Gatou begs.

"Damn right you'll pay. You'll also give me your account number and all rights to Gato Shipping, unless you want to die." Ameyuri says. Gato hesitates, but givens in and gives her a scroll filled with all the information required. Zabuza checks the information and is satisfied before Ameyuri brings Naruto's Kodachi down on a shocked Gato.

"Naruto…You alright?...and that technique" Kakashi starts, but Naruto stops him.

"I don't want to talk about it. Besides, I can't even make a shadow clone right now." Naruto says with a sigh. Just moments later, the people of Nami come ready for battle, only to see the carnage and the dead Gato.

"Naruto you're alright! Where is Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asks hopefully.

"He's over there, he's pretty beat up though." Naruto says, pointing towards the prone Uchiha. Sakura rushes over to Sasuke and tries to get him conscious, crying the entire time. Naruto stands next to Tazuna to "We've won Kakashi-sensei, there is no need to kill each other…"

"Did we miss it?" Inari asks

A/N: Another one down. I'll let everything be explained in the next chapter. Also this is the longest chapter that I've done so Enjoy it and don't bitch please…I'm going to bed.


	26. The Aftermath

A/N: This chapter is the aftermath of the Battle of the bridge

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking'  
"Jutsu/Technique"  
**"Demon/Summon Talking"**

-On the Bridge-

Naruto was currently leaning over the side of the bridge puking his guts out for the third time, no matter what the result was Naruto couldn't accept the fact that he killed over 200 men one Jutsu and one Technique. As he puked to get rid of everything that he ate over the past Nine days before, he was talking to his parents on what the Shinigami's Jutsu did and how to use it.

'So with all those bandits and others that I killed on the bridge, the blade collected their souls?' Naruto asked as he leaned over the side again and waited for the answer.

'That's right. Those souls are like payment for when you use the jutsu to bring someone back to life.' Kushina answered as she watched her son's reaction to the mass killing that he pulled just minutes ago.

'So I just do the jutsu and the person comes back to life?'

'Not exactly; you need to hold the blade the through the entire process and call out to Shinigami-sama. When he appears, you need to request to bring someone back from the dead and give him your blade so he could take the payment.'

'Is that all I have to do? Because I'm known to not have the best concentration after things like this…' Naruto motioned to the dead bodies that were behind him.

'Just focus on who you want to bring back and let Shinigami-sama do the work.'

'Also…why do you and Tou-chan call him 'Shinigami-sama'? How is he any different from Ojii-san?'

'Musuko…your father's soul along with mine are still in his possession. Until you gather enough souls to pay off ours and free us then we belong to him. Don't worry, over time our souls will gather to us in this seal and all you need to do is get the last of it from him. It's like Shinigami-sama said, he wanted you to cleanse the world of taint and corruption; as long as you do that then some of the souls will be used as payment to free us and revive us.' Naruto nodded and looked at the dead bodies that littered the bridge before he leaned over the edge to puke again. When he was done, he wiped his mouth.

'When I ask him to revive someone…do I have to know them personally? Or can I just have details about them?' Minato spoke up seeing as he rarely spoke to his son since they met, which was true since most of the time he was trying to free himself from Kurama.

'Details are all that you need to know, so it doesn't matter if you know them or not. If you don't have any details then give him a general idea of who to revive, for example the people of the wave that lost their lives.'

'Okay then…I'll see what I can do.' Naruto cut off his mental link and walked towards Ameyuri when Zabuza's blade came out of no where and almost decapitated him in one swing. Naruto was lucky enough to duck and watched as the blade missed. This action didn't go unnoticed be everyone and they all backed away from the two as they stood their ground. Kakashi was about to move forward, but Ameyuri grabbed his wrist and shook her head.

"What the HELL!? Why did you just try to cleave me in half?!" Zabuza just hoisted his blade over his shoulder and looked at Naruto with an impassive face.

"What's the deal with leaving Ameyuri on the bridge alone?" Naruto got confused until he realized what Zabuza said.

"Wha-I said sorry to her before I ran off! Besides this is the first mission where I realized that you could die! I was overcome by emotion!" Zabuza smirked at Naruto and got into a Kenjutsu stance.

"Alright…I make you a deal…I'll believe you if you beat me in a match. I win then I get to have some fun making you pay for leaving her for Gato to take, but if you win then I'll give you the Kubikiribōchō along with Ameyuri's Kiba and I'll believe what you said. Deal?" Naruto looked around to see everyone staring at them and watching what would happen. Naruto just sighed and looked up at Zabuza.

"Only Kenjutsu…nothing else?"

"How about only one jutsu can be used and that's it…so is that a deal?" Naruto simply just did a hand sign and disappeared in puff of smoke. When it cleared everyone had to hold back a laugh at seeing Naruto look like a girl with a jian in her hands.

"Ready?" Zabuza let out a chuckle.

"If you think that I'm going to go easy on you then your wrong." Naruto just placed his mask over his face again and stood still. Zabuza didn't waste time as he charged forward and raised his blade.

-In the Woods {Twelve Days Later} -

Twelve days…it had been Twelve days since that fateful fight on the Wave's now-completed bridge. Without the threat of Gato looming over the heads and no fear of any assassins, all the villages of the island pitched in, including the women and children. With the added assistance, Tazuna was happy to announce that the bridge would be available by tomorrow.

In the meantime Naruto was currently sitting next to Ameyuri getting his right arm wrapped up along with his head. Right beside them were the Kubikiribōchō and Kiba that were now rightfully in Naruto's possession.

"Ow, OW! THAT HURTS!"

"Then stop moving so much…it's only going to get worse if you keep moving around." Ameyuri said as she tugged on the knot with a little to much force. Over the past Twelve days Ameyuri took to being caring toward others and stopped her whole 'psycho Swordsman' act that she used to do with Zabuza. Hell she acted like a mother already to Haku and a stern wife to Zabuza when they did something that got on her nerves.

"OW!" Naruto winced when he felt the pain that shot through him. Maybe it was a bad idea for him to train with Ameyuri on how to use the Kiba as expertly as she did. The idea seemed nice on paper, but in real life it was nothing but hell for him.

"Still I'm surprised that you were able to Kiba and the Kubikiribocho like they were nothing. It took me a while to master the Kiba and use it effectively. It's still a shock that you beat Zabuza so easily on the bridge too." Naruto nodded and let out a yawn. When everyone decided to help with the bridge Tazuna, his family, the villagers and even his own team forced him away from the bridge so that he couldn't help.

"Well that was the only exciting thing that happened since I was told to rest. Being the 'Hero of the Wave' sounds cool, but if I don't do anything exciting then someone else can have the title. I was ready to help with the bridge too. At least you were there to teach me how to use these things throughout the entire time." Ameyuri nodded and started to wrap Naruto's left leg that was severely cut like his arm was.

"It looks like your wait is over too because Tazuna said that bridge would be opened tomorrow for the entire country. He wants you to be there for the festival that the entire town is going to throw for the celebration of the bridge." Naruto looked up and stared at Ameyuri like she grew a second head. "Keep staring then I'll have to remove your eyes…" Naruto immediately looked away as Ameyuri gave a giggle at his reaction.

"What festival? I haven't heard anything about it."

"Because you weren't supposed to know about it until I tell you." Naruto nodded at stood up when Ameyuri was done with Naruto's leg. Picking up the two legendary weapons Naruto leaned on Ameyuri for support and started to walk back to Tazuna's house. "Naruto…thanks. For giving me a second chance at life; for taking those swords…who knew that they were feeding me and Zabuza-kun tainted chakra. Also for those lessons…" Naruto nodded and continued to walk, too tired to answer.

[With Tazuna's Family]

Tsunami and Tazuna were currently watching at the miracle that happened to them; Inari was currently playing with Kaiza near the beach. Tsunami only watched with tears in her eyes at seeing her recently deceased husband playing with their son. It was still a shock when Naruto had revived him along with other families loved ones that were lost to Gato.

_-Flashback: On the Bridge-_

_Naruto just placed his mask over his face again and stood still. Zabuza didn't waste time as he charged forward and raised his blade. As soon as Zabuza was about to cleave Naruto in half; Naruto sidestepped Zabuza's attack and held out a leg to trip him. As soon as Zabuza tripped Naruto went forward and quickly sat on the man and placed the Jian to his jugular and leaned forward._

_Being a girl at the time the action was performed, made all the men, and Team Seven with Tazuna and Inari, faint with nosebleeds at seeing the lewd action. Many women, including Ameyuri, watched amazement at what Naruto was able to do, not only in fighting, but how he used his body like it was natural to him. Back to the fighting duo, Naruto was by Zabuza's ear and whispered into his ear…_

"_I win Zabuza-__**kun**__..." Naruto let out a giggle before he…or she got up and walked away while transforming back into a boy again. Ameyuri was thrown back to how easily Naruto walked off the event and only reached out his hand to get his blade that she still had in her hands. Giving it and quickly grabbing his shoulders Ameyuri leaned in close to Naruto's ear…_

"_Can you teach me how you were able to do that? How to use my body…?" Naruto stopped when he heard that and instantly blushed at the question. Turning his head nervously, Naruto slowly shrugged his shoulders before he was glomped by Ameyuri. "Thank you, Thank you, Thank You!" Naruto was able to make a clone and switch places with it and watched as it was crushed in a death-gripped hug. Walking over to the bodies, Naruto slowly breathed and held out The Divine Blade and did a series of hand signs. On the last hand-sign Naruto slammed the blade into the ground…_

"_Kami's Will: Pure Soul Resurrection!"__ Immediately the area was covered with a sense of death again. Many of the women started to faint with only Ameyuri and Tsunami still standing, and still awake along with Zabuza. Looking up at Naruto, both women gasped at seeing the Shinigami hovering in front of Naruto. Both walked forward slowly and listened to what the two were talking about._

"_**Indeed Naruto, I can do that I'll need your blade for that though…"**__ Naruto nodded and held out his blade. The Shinigami raised the blade and slid it between its mouth, __**"Ah…so many corrupt souls within…these will suffice as payment."**__ The Shinigami disappeared in bright light as it reached behind brought out a body from nowhere with one hand and a blue figure with its other and laid them on the floor. Placing the blue figure in the body, the Shinigami appeared again and hovered away to the bodies of the dead bandits. __**"It's easier when there's a body to place the souls in…they'll always change when the souls enter."**_

_In front of the four, with Zabuza walking over to the trio, the body that was on the ground was someone that made Tsunami let out tears at seeing. There laying on the ground, was Tsunami's deceased husband, Kaiza. The man let out a cough and got up with a start…looking around the first person that he saw was…_

"_Tsunami-hime?" Tsunami immediately cried and tackled him as he looked around. "How…?" Naruto shook his head and let out a laugh._

"_Don't question it…just be glad the Shinigami-sama brought you back. Live life like you want to…you're alive again!" Kaiza nodded dumbly at that and just his held his wife. _

_-Flashback End-_

Tsunami was so happy, along with everyone else that reunited with their loved ones, and tried to make up to Naruto, by having him relax from building the bridge. Needless to say, she and Nami no Kuni would forever be grateful and indebted to Naruto.

[With Team Seven]

Sasuke and Kakashi were sparing on the water, both determined to match up to Naruto in Taijutsu. While that was happening, Sakura was talking to Haku with repeated actions of Haku telling Sakura to leave him alone in a very Sasuke-like fashion. After the bridge event Haku, Naruto and Kakashi were swarmed with requests for date, marriages, children, and other things. None of them were had a reasonable excuse to get out of it, but Naruto made one up that he was need in Konoha, with Kakashi saying that he needed to help Naruto. Both were able to get out the requests, but in the process left Haku to fend for himself against everything.

That said, this was the excuse that Sakura used to try to get a date with the ice user. While Haku couldn't get out of the requests, he was able to get away from them when Naruto asked the he teach him how to harness the abilities of ice. Haku was surprised that Naruto was able use Ice Chakra, and as he found out, every other sub-element and main element known to Elemental Nations. Taking in the idea, Haku didn't waste time accepting and teaching Naruto alongside Zabuza and Ameyuri.

Unfortunately, he forgot that one of the main reasons that he did that was go get away from Sakura, who was part of the team. Now he was waiting Naruto to show up, but it seemed like it was taking forever.

{Six hours later}

The festival was going full force with the whole town celebrating. Tazuna was currently getting his ass drunk, Kakashi was reading the newest issue of _Icha Icha_ while watching out for any stray fan-girls that happen to pass by, Sasuke was currently playing the stall games with Inari, Sakura was trying to get a boy interested in her to no avail, Tsunami and Kaiza were sitting next to each other talking, Ameyuri and Haku were also talking, but the topic was on the child, and Zabuza and Naruto were currently sitting on a nearby rooftop watching everything.

Zabuza had a bottle of sake next to him while Naruto was currently looking over some music notes. It wasn't until Zabuza groaned that Naruto noticed him. Looking him over, Naruto saw that he was having trouble with something.

"Ryo for you thoughts…" Zabuza quirked an eyebrow at Naruto, but didn't answer. Naruto, not one to back down from a challenge, created a shadow clone that swiped the sake bottle from Zabuza and chugged its entire contents. Zabuza watched with fascination on how Naruto was able to put the strongest liquor, in the entire Wave Country, down and not get drunk immediately.

"Props for drinking the entire thing gaki…" Naruto shrugged and looked back at his notes while Zabuza looked like he was debating something with himself. Naruto saw this out of the corner of his eye and let out a chuckle to catch Zabuza's attention.

"If it's something that bothering you…I'm a good listener. Besides, it's not really like you to struggle with something. It makes you seem way out of character compared to how you were Twelve days ago." Zabuza sighed and looked at the party again.

"It's the child…"

"Nashi (1)?" Zabuza nodded.

"As sad and pathetic as it sounds, I don't think I'm cut out to be a father…I never had one who cared for me and I've always acted cold to everyone else. That…reaction and personality is something I've always used. It's not going to be easy for me to act all…lovely dovey." Naruto chuckled at Zabuza and put his music sheets down. Zabuza watched as Naruto placed his hand and on his face mask and pulled it down. Seeing the whisker birthmarks on his face Zabuza let out an unenthusiastic, "Cute…"

"Have you ever noticed that the badasses and the strong usually have their faces concealed to hide something…" Zabuza looked at Naruto and how he quickly changed the subject."…I mean, Kakashi-sensei wears that face mask to hide something that manages to have women swoon all over him if they see it. You wear wrappings around you mouth that hides those shark teeth that you have like Ameyuri. I wear this mask to hide these marks from everyone in my village and from my friends. Both Kakashi and I are afraid of showing our faces to others, so no one could judge us with what we have. It's just like what your doing with you kid…your hiding from the fact that no matter what, that child will be yours. You could hide from him or just hide him, but he'll still be yours."

"Is there a hidden message that you could point out for me here gaki?" Naruto sweat-dropped and looked over the village again before he got up.

"I'll say this once…'A leaf will always be apart of the tree it fell off of…that's what your child is to you…'." Naruto smiled before pulling up his mask to hide his whiskers and jumped off the roof leaving Zabuza to think about the statement. It didn't take long for Zabuza to realize what was said, so when he did he let out a chuckle.

"That gaki could pose a Yamanaka and I wouldn't know about it…"

-On the Stage in the Village Square-

Naruto was taking his instruments, along with Haku, Sasuke, and Inari to the back of the stage and set up his equipment. Looking over everything that he gave them the trio nodded and set to work for the big finale. Sasuke went to the edge of the own and placed some fireworks that were aimed at the middle of the town, Inari was setting the speakers to points where the sound could be heard from anywhere in the village, and surprisingly no one noticed Haku placing ice mirrors around the area. Meanwhile, Naruto's clones were gathering everybody to see the end of the Festival. Once everyone was at the stage, excluding Ameyuri since her unborn child could get effected; the curtains on the stage opened and showed Narutos…Lots of Narutos everywhere on the stage with different instruments in their possession.

Once everyone quieted down, the clones on the main drums started to play a simple beat while some were shouting. Soon the real Naruto started to play the flute along with Koto that was being played by another clone. Suddenly a guitar started to play and converged with the Koto along with the shouts and the flute. The drums were beginning to pick up and the sounds mixed into a giant orchestra. What amazed everyone was the fact that despite how the music sounded chaotic, the flute was still calm. Eventually everyone noticed that the guitar playing clone started a little music battle with the Koto player with the drums still in the background before Naruto picked the beat up with his flute having the guitar play background for him. Eventually the song stopped and then played again after the clones shouted. The guitar clone then took the time to play a quick solo in front of everyone. Naruto took a breather and signaled Haku to start his part and go around the mirrors using his ice ability to create snow.

Then everyone noticed the snow that was falling, but were soon captured by the sounds of Naruto's flute that echoed through-out the entire village. To them it sounded like their will and how they stood together as the other instruments started to play along with it. Eventually the song went back to the mixed sounds before Naruto and the clones stopped as Fireworks, courtesy of Sasuke, were fired into the sky and lit the sky. Everyone watched in fascination at the event and started to cheer for Naruto, who mysteriously disappeared from the stage with all his equipment; it was like he wasn't even there to begin with. (2)

-Road to Konohagakure-

Team Seven, along with Tazuna and Zabuza, were on their way to Konohagakure. They all stayed in Wave Country until the bridge was finished and said their goodbyes. Even though they decided to take Zabuza by himself; his family having stayed in the Wave to live peacefully for a bit, he was greatly restrained. Naruto applied chakra suppression tags on his body to prevent any surprises. The walk home was extremely awkward, seeing as Sakura was glaring at Naruto. Sasuke was reading a book and being quiet as hell, Kakashi was looking at Zabuza over the top of his book, and Tazuna was drinking himself silly. Naruto was actually trying to pop a rubber ball in his hand, something that caught Kakashi's eye but he didn't say anything about it.

"Hey Zabuza, I have a question." Naruto says.

"And that would be?" Zabuza asks, not really caring at this point in the trip.

"Why did you try to assassinate the Mizukage? You're obviously a good man, having a child with Ameyuri and keeping Haku as you son. It may not seem like much to most people, but to me that's one of the greatest forms of good there is. So why does a good man like you, try to kill a Kage?" Naruto asks. Before the battle on the bridge, Naruto believed Zabuza was nothing more than a ruthless killer, but now he was having second thoughts. Zabuza gives the question some thought, not knowing if telling him was the right thing to do. Then again, what did he have to lose?

"Gaki, the Yondaime Mizukage is an evil man. I've spent years working under him as a loyal shinobi, so I would know. The missions he sent me on were some of the most deadly and cruel missions I've ever experienced. He was responsible for the Bloodline Purge, seeing Kekkei Genkai as an abomination and the reason for Kiri's troubles. One day, he heard that a survivor of the Yuki clan, one of the greatest clans of Kiri, had emerged and sent me to kill him. When I found the Yuki clan survivor, you can imagine my surprise when it was completely decimated." Zabuza says.

"Eventually after our failed coup, both Ameyuri and I went to see it there was anyone left of that clan, imagine the looked on our faces when we found Haku in the street. I still felt loyalty at the time still and thought it was my job to kill him and yet... I couldn't do it. I've killed many men and yet, I couldn't bring myself to kill a simple child. He reminded me too much of myself, someone who had nothing. When the Yondaime found out a Bloodline user was still alive because of me, he labeled me a nuke-nin and sent some Hunter-nin after us. Naturally, I figured killing the Yondaime was the best way to free myself, but that didn't work out. I know it sounds lame, but it's the truth." Zabuza explains. Naruto nodded at the explanation and went back to trying to pop the rubber ball in his hand.

After all that, Sakura tried, yet again to get Sasuke to go on a date with her, but the Uchiha shot her down yet again. Sasuke was too focused on his weakness and thought of ways to overcome them, while walking as trained his lightning chakra by charging batteries. Naruto was impressed at the guy's determination…just like him.

"Hey Sasuke, here's a tip: Try thinking of something that was the opposite of what you expected and couldn't think of directly. Lightning is like that; it never is straight and always confuses things in the air to make a current. The more confused the person is at the time a current is made…then the more the flow will ease up and channel through the body. Electricity is something that goes in a random direction within something." Naruto explains, confusing even Kakashi.

"I've never heard of that explanation Naruto." Kakashi says, finding the conversation more interesting than his _Icha Icha_ at the moment.

"Stop making stuff up, Naruto baka!" Sakura yells, never coming across such a thing during her studies. "If that's true then why didn't we cover this in the Academy?" Sakura asks, not wanting to believe Naruto knew more than she did about something she did. It wouldn't be right that she didn't know something Naruto did!

"Why weren't nature manipulation and nature affinities covered in the Academy? It's because it's an advanced subject that not even some Jonin know about. In the Uzumaki clan, they've studied the three aspects that make up a Shinobi: The body, the mind and the spirit. Most people stop once they get to their nature affinity, because that's all most Shinobi care about, but my clan took it a step further." Naruto stopped as if the subject was too painful to talk about…Sakura was about to ask about it, but Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a stern looked that told her to drop it. Naruto quickly regained his composer and looked up.

"Naruto…"

"A lot of our jutsu involve using one or more of these tips, which means I must know them well. The spirit is an unlimited source of chakra and wisdom, so by finding balance, we can tap into those reserves of chakra... I guess actions speak louder than words. These tips and such are ways to find that balance and master other affinities easier despite them not being out natural affinity. The Uzumaki used elements in seals and such so that they could have an advantage over every shinobi in the elemental nations." Naruto says, stopping as everyone gives him their attention.

Before anyone could ask more about it, they all arrive at the gates of Konoha. Once Kakashi showed their passports and explained Zabuza's presence, the two guards nodded and opened the gates to Konoha. Once they enter the village, many of them are glad to be home, but Naruto has other feelings. To him, it was like walking into the lion's den; especially after the treatment he received in the Wave. Kakashi walked only three steps before he stopped and turned to the group mainly Sasuke and Sakura.

"Okay you two…you can go home and get some rest. Naruto…I'll need you to join me and give a mission report to the Hokage. Alright? Dismissed." Sakura and Sasuke walked away and while Kakashi and the others walked towards the Hokage's tower. That was until Naruto's stomach growled and had them detour to Ichiraku Ramen.

-Ichiraku Ramen-

A certain purple haired Tokubetsu Jonin was currently crying with anime tears in her eyes as she watched a certain mint-green haired academy student inhale her tenth bowl of ramen right in front of her. When Anko decided to treat her adoptive daughter Fū to ramen, she forget the little detail that Naruto had gotten her addicted to the noodles like he was and she often pushed herself to match him in the amount of bowls they consumed.

"Ayame-nee-chan can I have another bowl please!"

"You bet Fū." Anko just hung her head in defeat as Fū dived into the bowl that was placed in front of her.

"Thanks nee…" It wasn't the amount that the two kids ate, no whatever they ate they just burned it off with training or by running around the village pulling a prank and running away from the mass of ninja that they seem to gather in record time. The problems was the fact was that with the more bowls they consumed, the more she had to pay for the bill; meaning that she would have less to spend on her precious dango. While Naruto was considered an adult, Fū was still in the academy meaning that she was still a child to the village. This also meant that Anko had to be there for her whenever she was going out to eat.

One thing that Anko made a promise to herself was that as soon as the two finished the academy, she would open an account, or in Naruto's case use his parent's account, and let them waste their own money. Anko still had to deal with this for another year and then it would be over for her; something that she thanked Kami for on a daily basis. Still the academy was let out for another month, so the account for Fū could wait.

While the mother-daughter duo was sitting at the main counter, Naruto and company were walking through the entrance and, surprisingly, they all savored the smell of ramen that permeated the air around them. It wasn't until Naruto went up to the counter that he noticed this mother and sister along with the amount of bowl next to them. While the adults behind Naruto watched, bug-eyed at seeing Fū put away the noodles and the amount of bowls that stacked up, Naruto felt pride in his sister for worshipping the food that he did.

"Hey Naruto, when did you get back?" Naruto looked over the counter to see Ayame smiling at him, blushing a little at Naruto's attire; she hadn't seen him for the last month in the academy and then he just left on a mission for another month. Meanwhile the Zabuza and Tazuna saw this little action and went to have a little fun; Kakashi saw the looks exchanged and went to sit next to Anko. Zabuza walked up to Naruto and placed a hand on his head.

"So gaki…older woman huh? Gotta say, that's takes a lot to skill." The effects were instantaneous and Naruto and Ayame went a deep shade of red, but for different reasons. Ayame was red because she considered Naruto a brother and was embarrassed at the assumption, and Naruto went red in rage because of the statement. While everyone knew of Naruto's tolerance for perverts to be very little, Zabuza and Tazuna never got the memo and learned the hard way not to imply things like that to Naruto when he was present.

-Hokage's office-

Hiruzen was currently looking over papers in his office, when he felt a large spike in chakra. Looking out the window, he smiled when the signal came from the ramen stand and knew that either Fū or Naruto were on a rampage. Taking his pipe out, Hiruzen simply let out a chuckle as a dust cloud, caused by a collision of some sort, appeared and had many ANBU rushing over the spot to investigate.

'It seems Naruto-kun has returned…' Hiruzen looked out the window, before he turned back, '…and it seems like he brought a friend that said something wrong.'

A/N: Done…a little hard to write but done. Next time a new mission, a new teammate, a new alliance, a new technique, and a meeting about Naruto.

(1) Means Pear...something since Ameyuri's last name means apple and Zabuza's means Peach. Both grow on a tree so...yea not that clear.

(2) Listen to the main theme from season 1 to hear it.


	27. Changes

A/N: This chapter has the changes appear.

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking'  
"Jutsu/Technique"**  
**

-Ichiraku Ramen-

Currently we see Naruto sitting next to his sister both inhaling the bowls of ramen in front of them. Behind the duo we see Kakashi and Tazuna trying to get Zabuza out of the crater that he was in, it also doesn't help that he was also embedded into the floor. Ayame and her father were shifting their gaze from the two children to the mass of shinobi that started to appear around the hole in the ground back to Naruto's family. While Ayame was thankful for Naruto's low tolerance for perverts; she was also a little disappointed at Naruto reaction and how he handled it. It also didn't help that Anko and Fū supported his actions.

Anko for one was replaying the quick succession of actions that happened just 5 minutes ago…

_-Flashback: 5 minutes ago-_

_Naruto was facing away from Zabuza, but the KI that he was radiating was telling the former Swordsman to get the hell out of there. While Tazuna backed away from them, Zabuza stood his ground and watched Naruto's reaction. Seeing as he faced the Yondaime Mizukage, Zabuza was not easily frightened by the KI; however, Naruto was the village pariah for reason and that reason was leaking through a little._

_Without any warnings, Naruto quickly dashed to Zabuza and landed a jaw-breaking kick the man's chin and sent him flying in the air. Not wasting any time Naruto quickly went through a series of hand signs before he pulled his face mask down. If someone looked at his eyes they would've seen that it was tinted red and had four tomoe that were spinning wildly around his pupil._

"_Fire Style: Three Dragons Flame Parade"__ Naruto took a deep breath and blew into his hands that were outstretched, immediately three snakes make of fire shot forward and grew as they raced towards their target. When the dragons reached Zabuza, the immediately latched onto him, effectively stopping his movements, and fell with him towards the ground. Seeing as he couldn't move, Zabuza made a mental note __**NOT**__ to fuck with Naruto or say something stupid around him again._

_The crash was able to pick up some dust and covered the area in dirt, except surprisingly the ramen stand. Immediately after Kakashi got up from his seat and walked over to Tazuna and guided him to the injured man. Tazuna took the time to make a large mental note __**NOT**__ to __**EVER**__ mess with Naruto unless he had death wish. While that went on, Naruto went over and ordered his usual 15-20 bowls or ramen and started to devour his favorite meal._

_-Flashback End-_

Immediately after the dust settled, several ANBU arrived to the scene and started asking question. Many of the civilians immediately tried to tell lies about the event in hopes of getting Naruto arrested. Unfortunately, Kakashi was there and cleared everything up by simply saying, 'This man had intentionally hit one of Naruto's anger points,' and started to try to pry Zabuza out of the ground. The ANBU immediately paled at the answer Kakashi gave and left without another word seeing as they knew, and fear, that simple phrase and wanted to get out of there.

Naruto on the other hand was now talking to Fū and laughing with her like the event never happened in the first place. When Naruto finished his bowl he left with Kakashi and the others to give their report to the Sandaime.

- Hokage's office {20 minutes later} -

"... And that concludes our report Hokage-sama." Kakashi reported, saluting the Sandaime Hokage. The wise old man takes a drag of his pipe, something felt off.

"I see thank you for the report Kakashi…Naruto-kun." Both nodded and looked toward Zabuza, who was sitting in a chair, to see what he was going to do. "As for Zabuza…I wish to know what you have in mind for him…also what of his family that are still in Nami no Kuni?"

"As for what we should do with the Yuki clansmen, I say we accept him into the village. As the sole survivor of a great clan we can bring such a rare and powerful kekkei genkai into Konoha. As for Zabuza and Ameyuri, they are both wanted in Kiri. We _should_ turn them over Kiri and claim the reward to be split among the team, but I think Naruto may have another suggestion…" Kakashi explains.

"I see, thank you Kakashi for your input." The Sandaime states; "Naruto-kun?" the Sandaime asks, giving the floor to Naruto.

"I say we let them all live. Ameyuri is a kenjutsu specialist and can utilize Storm Style attacks through use of her infamous Kiba twin swords and her affinity for water. Zabuza have given property of his blade and I doubt he'd be willing to risk death by trying to kill you, Ojii-san. Also Haku isn't likely to harm anyone, seeing as he hates violence with all of his being; the family could be adopted into the Uzumaki and Namikaze Clans. It would also help me if the Council ever found out about my eyes and try to put me in the CRA seeing as I won't be the 'last' of both clans." Naruto says, not seeing the point in letting two great shinobi and one great kunoichi wasted for some ryo. Both he and Kakashi both shivered at the thought of the CRA…so many women…

"Very well, Naruto-kun…is this action what you wish to do?" the Sandaime asks knowing Naruto's reasons and fully supported him.

"Ojii-san, I wish for all three to be adopted into my mother and father's clan. I will gladly pay Kakashi-sensei the full bounty for each of them and sign any paperwork we may need to. Zabuza may be a criminal to Kiri, but to Konoha…he's an ally that has potential. I want to place Ameyuri in the Uzumaki clan while Zabuza and Haku could be placed in the Namikaze clan with their unborn child being like me and being in both clans." Hiruzen nodded and began to pull out a large stack of papers from his desk.

"Very well, Zabuza Momochi_-Namikaze_, you are hereby release of all charges and have been adopted into the Namikaze clan along with your adoptive son Haku Momochi_-Namikaze_. Do you accept this offer? If you do the Ameyuri Ringo-_Uzumaki_, along with the rest of your family will be brought over to Konoha and will stay with Naruto and his family while enduring three-month probation. When that has passed, you and your family will be enlisted as Konoha shinobi unless they want other wise."

"So…If I accept then me and everyone else that I'm associated with will be protected by the gaki's clan?" Seeing Hiruzen nod, Zabuza thought over the option. "I'll accept on one condition…"

"Name what that would be…" Zabuza smirked at that and looked at Naruto as if he was sizing him up for something.

"I want an S-ranked mission with the gaki to travel with me, Haku and his team to Kiri and help the rebel forces end the Bloodline Purge. If that can be arranged, then not only will I accept your offer, I'll also see if I can get an alliance with the new Mizukage and Konoha." Hiruzen and Kakashi immediately narrowed their eyes on Zabuza and let off as much KI that they could. Naruto for one, having been used to more KI that what was used, was surprised that Zabuza wanted him to join him for a mission.

"…Tell me Zabuza…why would I accept those terms that you have set up?"

"…Because knowing the gaki for time I have, I know he'll do anything to help others and I know the Leader of the Rebel forces would rather die than letting someone like him die on the battle field. Also I'll be with him along with Cyclops over there… and no one is going to get near him or his teammates as long as we're around. I know that's a stupid reason, but this kid can make the impossible-possible." Hiruzen was about to retort and yell at the man in front of him, but Naruto finally spoke up.

"He's right Ojii-san…I would do it even without you approval anyway…"

"Naruto-kun…"

"Besides, Zabuza's home is Kiri and I know that I would ask the same thing if Konoha was ever like that. He does have a point that Kakashi-sensei would be with me…and I trust Zabuza to protect me." Hiruzen starred at Naruto, who had an unwavering gaze and sighed at seeing that the boy would be true his word. Looking over the three that stood in front of him, Hiruzen pulled out a scroll and tossed it to Zabuza.

"Write down the mission detail in that scroll and bring it to me tomorrow and we'll see what happens from there. I may approve of it, but Naruto would also have to convince his mother to let him go..." Naruto instantly paled at that, Kakashi also did the same thing and both shared the same thought…

'Oh Shit…' Zabuza simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Who cares…?" Hiruzen only shook his head at him and silently wished him luck.

"If that is all…you three are all dismissed." Zabuza and Naruto left while Kakashi stayed behind. "Is something that you want Kakashi?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama…what about the Chūnin Exams…wasn't that was supposed to happen shortly?" Hiruzen stopped and looked up at Kakashi and thought it over in his head.

"I want Naruto to participate in the exams, and I know you want him to do it also. Well then it should happen at a later date." Kakashi's eye widened at that news, "Naruto wouldn't want to miss his chance to move up in shinobi ranks and I don't want to be the one to hold him back. While this would be on short notice…I'll send word to every other village and even the other Kages of the change in date. It should prove beneficial to everyone to have more time to train." Kakashi nodded at the logic behind the movement and left to relax and enjoy his time before he left.

-Chūnin Exams Tower-

Naruto and Fū were currently huddling within the corner of the training room and watched as Anko and Zabuza went about in their fight. When Naruto and Zabuza arrived at the tower Naruto immediately took his sister to his room and let Zabuza deal with the explanations. Naruto didn't even get to the stairs before he was call for by Anko to come back into the room. While Naruto was going to face hell, Fū decided to follow him and watch what would happen.

That was her mistake that she regretted and was now huddling with her older brother. Meanwhile, Anko now had Zabuza on the ground wrapped in snakes that were peculiarly circling around his manhood letting out hisses. Naruto, not having the guts to confront his mom, watched and hoped that Zabuza would be going to a nice place in the afterlife. Unfortunately, Naruto was not spared from Anko's wrath when she finally noticed him in the corner wrapped around Fū.

Seeing that the kids' eyes were shut, Anko sent a snake over to them and surprise them, as well as break them apart so she could talk to Naruto. The effect was instant and Fū was sent screaming to her room saying sorry to Naruto in the process. Naruto was still huddled up in the corner and watched as Anko sent a snake to wrap around him and bring him towards her. Seeing her up close, Naruto start to pray that someone was going save him. Fortunately, that night went easier than expected and Naruto had permission to leave to Kiri with a very dangerous warning to Zabuza and Naruto…if he lived through.

- Council Chambers {the next day} -

Hiruzen was sitting in his chair along with his advisors, as they watched both the Civilian and Shinobi Council sides enter. Hiruzen, along with the entire Shinobi council, were clueless as to why a meeting was called. Hiruzen was also thankful that it was called so he can tell everyone about the changes that were going to happen soon.

"Now that we've gathered…would someone enlighten the rest of us as to why we are gathered here?" Immediately Mebuki spoke up.

"Of course Hokage-sama…We are gathered here to discuss the issue of the demon possessing more power and abilities. My daughter has told me about her mission to Wave Country and what she saw; she said that the demon was constantly getting in the way and possessed powers that she's never seen." Hiruzen stiffed a little looked at Mebuki with narrowed eyes. He was about to speak until Danzō spoke up.

"First off Mebuki…it would be best to refrain from calling the boy a demon; the Sandaime's law is still in effect, therefore you'll likely be executed for speaking out of line. The way you have said this…we'd expect him to show these to us willingly. If the Uzumaki was able to harness power that your daughter hasn't seen, then it shows that she is only a civilian to the arts of a shinobi. Likely we've seen what the Uzumaki could do and have knowledge of said power…"

"So you know of his ability to control ice along as using wind, water, and what my daughter said is correct, lightning. She had said that the…boy had channeled some of his power into a piece of paper; the result was that of it crinkling, getting lightly soaked, and then being cut into two." Everyone's eyes widened except, Hiruzen and his advisors. While the Shinobi council was thinking about Naruto's skill, the civilian side was shouting for his death. The entire room was soon filled with KI that had everyone quiet down and look at Hiruzen.

"Hiruzen…if what Mebuki is saying is correct, then we should watch the boy and monitor his abilities. Having three Nature Affinities is rare for someone, much less a child, should have; I suggest that…"

"Danzō…we will not turn that boy into a weapon for Konoha. If what Mebuki is saying and Naruto-kun and her daughter along with Sasuke and Kakashi show us and confirm this…then we'll think of what actions to take. If that is for now then I'd like to bring up…"

"Excuse me Hiruzen...but I'd like to bring up the boy's background since we're taking about him. I am talking about the boy's surname 'Uzumaki'." Much of the council were in thought of what Danzō was planning. The civilian council scoffed and looked at the rest of the room; that was until a rather fat civilian spoke up.

"What could that name have compared to the Uchiha or the Senju? That boy is an orphan…I even bet that his father was weak and his mother was likely a street whore…" The room was instantly filled with hostility and KI that took everyone by surprise. What was even more of a surprise was the fact that Mikoto, Hiashi, Fugaku and Hiruzen were the source of those; instantly the council man was swarmed on both sides with ANBU that grabbed him and dragged him out the room.

"It had come to my attention, that when I've looked through the records for anyone that had the same surname as the boy would likely be his parents. Only two people had appeared up under the name 'Uzumaki'…those two were 'Konoha's Red Death' Kushina Uzumaki and the Shodai's own wife Mito Uzumaki; both apart of the fabled Uzumaki clan that resided in Uzushiogakure. That said, it could likely be put together that even if Mito Uzumaki was still alive and the boy's mother, she would be well over a hundred years old. Kushina was also the likely reason as to be the boy's mother…this could be a coincidence, but if this is true then we need to place the boy within the CRA to rebuild the Uzumaki clan." Immediately the civilians were in uproar of such reasoning and started to say that he wasn't a part of the Uzumaki and that he was cursing the name of the two greatest women that were once part of Konoha.

"ENOUGH! THE CIVILIANS WILL HOLD THEIR TONGUE ON THE ISSUE AS IT CONCERNS ONLY THE SHINOBI PORTION OF THE COUNCIL! IF YOU HAVE ANY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS THEN LEAVE THIS ROOM!" Everyone shut upon hearing Hiruzen yell. While he was calming his voice Danzō was speaking again.

"As I was saying, I also noticed the similarity of the boy's facial features and have seen that he looks like an exact copy of the Yondaime excluding the whisker marks that are on his face. With these fact, I have come to the conclusion that the Yondaime and Konoha's Red Death were the boy's parents…it would also show that if this is true then the boy has more power and more wealth than even the Hokage. This futhers the need to place the boy within the CRA and not only repopulate the Uzumaki clan, but then Namikaze clan as well." Hiruzen, Mikoto, Fugaku, and Hiashi were all shocked that Danzō was able to figure this out but didn't want the new to go out.

"Even if that were true Danzō, there was still the fact that the rest of the village will not accept Naruto-kun as the Yondaime's Legacy anytime soon. There is also the fact that there are no solid facts of the boy's birthparents and what you've have said is nothing more that assumptions and opinions. We cannot put him into something that he could not even be a part of until a solid fact appears in front of us. As of now the issue of putting Naruto Uzumaki into the CRA is now disclosed and will not be brought up in any future meetings. There is also the fact that recently Naruto-kun had adopted another male and his family into his under the same surname. That makes is so that he is not the only male; our laws dictate that there has to be only one male left within the clan and that if there were more than one, than it wouldn't happen." Hiashi saw what Hiruzen was doing and also added to it.

"It also states that the CRA never affects those that are originally a part of the clan only; adding a male into his family made sure that unless this other male and his family die, the Uzumaki will not be place in the CRA anytime soon. It also states that if the boy is engaged, betrothed, or married to another before he is placed with the CRA; then it would be null and void." Everyone nodded their head in understanding, but for different reasons. The Civilians were for the fact that it would mean that Naruto wouldn't be stronger or more of a threat to them and the Shinobi because it means that Naruto was safe from doing something that he wouldn't want to do. Hiruzen nodded and shuffled his papers around before he looked up seeing at the meeting went on long enough and he wouldn't be able to discuss what he wanted.

"If that is all I'd like to call this meeting to an end…dismissed" Everyone got up, but Hiashi followed Hiruzen to his office and was surprised to see Team Seven waiting for them. Upon seeing Naruto, Hiashi smirked a little that only Naruto caught and started to tremble a bit.

-Hokage's Office-

Team Seven was patiently waiting in the Hokage's office…well Kakashi was reading his book, Sasuke was still trying to light the light bulb, Sakura was watching Sasuke, and Naruto had his eyes closed that made it looked like he was sleeping. In fact Naruto was actually a little tired seeing as Anko was torture…uh explaining to Naruto what was going to happen when he got back from Kiri.

_-Flashback: Yesterday-_

_Naruto was praying that someone would save him in his time of need…which was at that moment in time. It also seemed that Kami was smiling at him, because just before Anko was about to speak there was a loud banging that coming from the main doors. Anko dropped Naruto on the floor and walked off to see who it was and when she came back Naruto was glad to see Kurenai and __Yūgao with her. Immediately they saw the state Naruto was in and glared at Anko._

"_What?" __Both women gave a 'Really?' look at the question that they were asked._

"_Why do you have your son bound in snakes with some other man? Is he trying to turn him into a pervert?"_

"_No…" Anko gave a glare to Zabuza who only scoffed at her. Kurenai and __Yūgao both looked at the trio and hung their heads._

"_Then why are they like that? If it's really long, then could just tell us the main points." Anko nodded and gave the abridged version to them. In that time all three women grew a hate for Zabuza and thought about Naruto and his decision. "Still he is a shinobi of Konoha Anko…We all know that it's hard to accept the possible loss, but it is his choice." In the time Zabuza and Naruto both surprisingly fell asleep from the lack of attention._

_That was put to an end when Naruto was instantly hung upside down. Zabuza was taken away from the room by __Yūgao while Kurenai left the room. After about 20 minutes passed Kurenai came back with some ramen and called out to Fū. When Naruto saw what they were doing he started to struggle out of his bindings and close his eyes; that was pointless as soon as Anko slapped one of his seals on his back. He cursed his care to make torture seal that open senses and make them more sensitive._

_This little session lasted until about until 4 o'clock in the morning, Naruto was lowered to the ground and watched as Anko crouched in front of him with a smirk on his face. Looking around, Naruto saw that 'Fū', which was just Anko's shadow clone transformed, had dispelled and left the empty noodle bowls in front of him. It wasn't until Anko spoke up that he realized that he was really tired._

"_When you get back…don't expect to be served ramen for a two weeks gaki…" Naruto had that thought already registered in his mind, but unconsciousness over took him_

_-Flashback End-_

Naruto only got an hour of sleep before he was tossed out of the tower and headed over to the Hokage's tower. Naruto was the first to arrive so he stayed there until the rest of his team arrived. While he was sleeping, he was talking a little with his father and how his technique worked.

'Tuo-chan I was wondering what you could tell me about the Hiraishin.' Naruto asked seeing as his father made something so great.

'The Hiraishin, eh? You must be close to using the Rasengan then huh?. Well it's a little complicated, but it deals with a Parallel Dimension. Time passes differently in every dimension, so while it seems like you're taking five seconds and thirty steps in one, barely even a millisecond has passed in this another one.'

'That's it?' Naruto asked surprised at how simple it seemed.

'Yep…but the drawback is that the Hiraishin shortens your lifespan the more you use it. Not by a lot, but as you lose a few seconds each time...those seconds add up over time Musuko.' Naruto nodded at that and thought things over since the pros outweighed the cons.

'What I don't get is how the seal and kunai come in to this?'

"The seal serves as a marker for you. The other dimension was dark and empty-a void, you could say. One step in that dimension could put you hundreds of miles away in this one. The marker gives off a unique glow that only you can see so that you know where to exit."

Naruto titled his head. He thought he'd had it, but now it wasn't making sense anymore. 'Wait, so how does it work if there are multiple markers? Won't they be in completely different places in the other dimension?' Minato was amazed that Naruto taking the technique a part piece by piece.

'All of the markers that I place were in the same place relative to me. Wherever the kunai are in this dimension there will be a void–only they'll exist as glowing lights.'

'I _still_ don't get it. How do you keep track of where you are?' Naruto asked, beginning to get frustrated. Minato smiled at his son for trying to piece his technique together almost from scratch.

'I did by taking a mental snapshot of course. It's something you have to experience to really understand.' The blond was quiet for a few minutes as he attempted to process this new information. Things were gradually beginning to fall into place, but there was one giant, gaping piece that needed to be filled before he could go any further. 'So…how do I get to this other dimension?' Minato cracked a smile.

'Ah, that's the hard part. You have to find it yourself.' Naruto was dumbfounded.

'I…I have to find my own dimension? Is that even possible?'

'I believe there are an infinite amount of them, with most of them being completely devoid of life while existing parallel to our own. I used seal to search for one, and once I did, I had the key to it tattooed on myself on my arm. You should study the Sharingan extensively to figure out how to find it in the first place, though having my notes would certainly help. They already have the Sharingan broken down to study if you looked over them.' Naruto couldn't help but admit it certainly made more sense. Itachi had built his own city inside the Tsukuyomi world; which brought him to his next question…

'Couldn't someone barge their way in and stop me from using it?' Minato shook his head.

'Each formula is unique to a certain chakra signature, and the seal on the tattoo is nearly the same as the seal i placed on my kunai. The difference is that there is an entrance and exit character. In simpler terms, the seal placed on other objects and people are the doors, and I myself am the only key that can open them.'

'So do I have to make my own key and doors?' Minato took to a thinking pose for a minute

'More or less or you could just modify mine slightly.' Naruto nodded but his connection just as the doors opened and he saw Hiashi enter with Hiruzen. Looking over in Hiashi's direction, Naruto gulped a little before he turned and faced the Sandaime.

"Now then I'll keep this short; Teams seven, eight, and six are being rearranged. You three will need to go to Training Ground Nine and see what happens. It would've happened earlier, but your mission was taking place; Dismissed." Everyone left except Naruto and Hiashi. Looking over the two Hiruzen could guess why Hiashi was still there but Naruto was a complete mystery. "Can I help you Naruto-kun?" Naruto nodded.

"Ojii-san…do you happen to have special Kunai with you? Also do you have notes on how they were used? I want to study them and see if they'll help me in some way." Both men knew what Naruto was talking about, but only Hiruzen knew the reason as to why he wanted them. Taking out a rather large scroll and sealed some papers and a small storage scroll that held lots of the kunai in them and handed them over to Naruto. "Thanks…Sorry about Hinata Hiashi-sama I'll be careful next time…" Hiashi nodded at Naruto.

"No problem Naruto-kun…" When Naruto left, Hiashi looked at Hiruzen with a raised eyebrow. He knew of Naruto's accidental kiss with his daughter, but didn't really care for it. What caught his attention was the items that he asked for.

"Does he know?"

"You'll find out in time Hiashi…" Hiashi nodded and left the room.

-Training Ground 9-

Naruto arrived at Training Ground 9 to see Teams 6, 7, and 8 all there waiting for them. Seeing that sensei's were talking to with other, Naruto walked over to Hinata and her team. Seeing Naruto approach Kiba let the others know that he arrived.

"Hey Naruto! How's it going man?" Naruto looked up and smiled under his mask. Something that irked Kiba was that no matter what Naruto always wore the cloth to mask the bottom of his face. "Why are you still wearing that thing man? C'mon can we at least see what's under the mask?" Naruto looked at Kiba and shrugged his shoulder. The other teams heard the conversation and began to watch to see what Naruto was hiding.

All the anticipation died when Naruto pulled his mask down to reveal…another mask. Everyone besides Kakashi, face-faulted at seeing what was underneath Naruto's mask. Naruto only chuckled at them and pulled his mask up effectively dispelling the Seal-based Genjutsu that was under his chin. Kurenai forgot about it, but ignored it and turned to face everyone.

"Alright…you probably know why we're here. The Hokage thinks that our teams are unstable in one way or another. Now stand by your sensei and give and introduction on you team." The three teams gathered and sat in a circle. "Alright you three go first." Kurenai pointed to Team 6.

"We are Team 6 consisting of Tsuya Yoshano, daughter of Mitsu Yoshano, team Ninjutsu user and expert in the Kenjutsu arts." Tsuya started.

"Yonaka Kenshi, Orphan at birth, intermediate swordsman and team sensor." Yonaka added.

"Sakyū no Hanaichige, son of the Hanaichige duo, team Genjutsu user and novice in the Kenjutsu arts. Our sensei is Aoba Yamashiro." Kurenai nodded and looked at Team 7.

"Team 7 reporting with Naruto Uzumaki, adoptive son of Anko Mitarashi-Uzumaki, expert Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu and Taijutsu fighter and heir to the Uzumaki clan."

"Sasuke Uchiha, heir to the Uchiha clan, and Expert Taijutsu and Ninjutsu fighter."

"Sakura Haruno, Daughter of Councilwoman Haruno and Team Recorder. Our sensei is Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan." Kurenai nodded at them and looked at her own team.

"Team 8 with Hinata Hyūga, Heiress of the Hyūga clan, daughter of Hiashi Hyuga and team sensor."

"Shino Aburame, heir to Aburame clan and team scout and back-up."

"Kiba Inuzuka is my name and I'm the son of Tsume Inuzuka and the team's tracker." Kurenai and Aoba instantly caught on to what every team had or was specialized in.

Team 6 was based on Kenjutsu users and focused on weapons more than anything leaving them vulnerable to genjutsu and Ninjutsu. Team 7 was meant for assault missions and the like and was weak against Genjutsu like Team 6, but also lacked anyone to use it. Team 8 was almost purely a scouting team and wouldn't be any good against a full on fight.

"Well now…it looks like we're overbalanced on teams. I think a little rearrangement would do perfectly." Everyone looked at Kakashi who pulled out a piece of paper from out of nowhere. He handed it over to Kurenai and Aoba who looked over it and nodded at the arrangements. "Right I would like Hinata Hyūga, Sakura Haruno, and Tsuya Yoshano to step forward please." The tree girls stepped forward and looked at each other very nervously. Kakashi looked them over and looked at Team 7 before he pointed at them. "Hinata…I need you to go into Team Seven and stand there with them." Hinata nodded and left to stand next to Naruto and Sasuke in the middle.

"Sakura Haruno…let's see…please head over to Team 6." Sakura was about to argue, but a glare from all three adults shut her up immediately. Kurenai looked at Tsuya and nodded at her.

"Tsuya, would you please join my team over there?" Tsuya looked over to the team and nodded. The three jōnin looked over the changes and nodded one another. "Let's see what they can do…Team Eight on me!" Kurenai shouted and waited for her team before they left.

"Team Six follow me…" Aoba started to walk away and had everyone follow; Sakura a little reluctant, but followed anyway. Team 7 stayed behind and looked at Kakashi, who pulled out three bells getting them all to tense.

"Let's see how well you all interact shall we?" Naruto turned to Hinata and Sasuke, before all three nodded. Taking Hinata's hand, Naruto and her disappeared while Sasuke threw a smoke bomb to cover up their escape. Kakashi just eye-smiled at them and went on to read his book.

A/N: Done…next time it'll be short on the test so no complaining. Also It might be a while before another update…I'm going back and extending the earlier chapters. Next time: the new teams and the Journey to Kiri begins.


	28. Preparations

A/N: This chapter has the changes appear.

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking'  
"Jutsu/Technique"

-Training Ground 9-

Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke were all running from Kakashi after Sasuke threw the smoke bomb to cover their tracks. Resting on a tree, Naruto looked around the area and nodded showing that it was safe to rest. Sasuke soon popped out of the trees and landed next to his teammates.

"Alright…I guess this is like last time; except he has three bells for all of us." Naruto nodded at that and looked at Hinata, who was confused. The only reason that she tensed up when she saw the bells, was because she thought Kakashi was going to throw something at them. Naruto saw her confusion and decided to explain what was happening.

"Hinata-chan…this is a test to see how well we work as a team. We all need to pull our weight and try to get a bell for each of us. The first time me and Sasuke did this, I managed to get the bells, but both of us failed to keep them." Hinata nodded at him and looked on as Naruto pulled out a map of Konoha. "Alright, this is where Kakashi-sensei is right now." Naruto showed by placing a bug on the paper that surprisingly didn't move. "We're right here…" Naruto placed another bug on the map and looked at the others. "…so any ideas?" Hinata and Sasuke both face-faulted when they heard Naruto say that.

"Well…seeing as Kakashi-sensei wants us to work together…I suggest that we use our own skills from our clans to get the bells." Sasuke stated as Naruto pulled out another paper and began to write something on it. After he was done, he showed his teammates that he written all of his skills and abilities on the paper besides his Sējigan and the abilities that he had with them including his use of sub-elements. Sasuke nodded at that and took the paper away to write his own skills and abilities. After he was done, Hinata was handed the paper and wrote down what she had in her arsenal.

"That about does it…" Naruto said as he looked over all abilities that the three shared. The three analyzed the data and nodded to each other in silent agreement of what need to be done. Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand again, causing said girl to blush, and took off while Sasuke went through his equipment.

[With Kakashi]

Kakashi sighed reading his book wondering what was going on and why the kids were taking so long. It was a bit odd and he knew the boys at least wouldn't give up without a fight. He looked up and moved aside as a kunai impacted into the tree next to his head and nearly took his _Icha Icha_. He heard the snap hiss sound and jumped at the explosive note detonated. The Naruto and Sasuke came at him with determination that he knew he had to put his book away for them. As he fought them something felt off they weren't fighting the same way in fact they were fighting like...Naruto.

He jumped up and fired off several kunai hitting the shadow clones that had been transformed into the team. He landed and wondered what was next, he soon found himself surrounded by an army of Narutos and he noticed that they were doing the same thing like last time. He wouldn't be able to know which one was which but he fought on displacing clones. What he didn't know was that his team was already moving him towards their trap. Just then Hinata, from her position in the bushes, threw several of her kunai at him; this time they had explosive tags on them.

Kakashi was forced back into an area where Sasuke from his place in a tree fired off several shuriken with ninja wires on them. He enveloped Kakashi tying him up as Naruto's clones came at him with a vengeance. The clones soon attacked and the real Genin lost sight of Kakashi as the clones covered him. Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata came out from their places and watched to see the aftermath.

"Alright that had to do it…" Naruto said as he dispelled the clones. He was expecting his beat up 'uncle' bound by ninja wire; what he got was a log tied to the tree. "What the...?" Naruto didn't have time to finish before a heel was sent his way. When Naruto stopped rolling, he saw Kakashi with Sasuke and Hinata in his hands. How…?"

"Easy…" Kakashi's voice called. "That was never the real me and it was switched with a log." The three Genin couldn't help but feel down, that was their best plan and Kakashi had used his own shadow clone with a substitution the entire time. Kakashi had a feeling they had been up to something when they tried the same thing again, so he wanted an ace up his sleeve. Besides it was always a good thing to make others think you were smarter and more skilled than they thought, since that placed doubt in their minds and doubt could kill you just like any other weapon. That was until a voice called out that sounded just like Naruto's only far off and getting closer.

"I got it! I got it!" Everyone looked to see another Naruto along with Sasuke and Hinata running over and group. Kakashi looked confused until 'Sasuke' and 'Hinata' disappeared in a puff of smoke; Kakashi watched as the clone handed the real one something and dispelled. Now the real Naruto looked at Kakashi with a look in his eyes. Kakashi immediately knew that Naruto had something very unpleasant in mind and he was already trying to think what he was up to.

"Alright Kakashi-sensei here's what's going to happen; you are going give us those bells or else…" Naruto told him.

"…Or else what Naruto? There isn't a thing you three have that could force me to give them to you." Kakashi said from his place in the tree trying to see what Naruto was hiding behind his back.

"…really? Sasuke you think you can light a fire with this?" Naruto asked as he pulled out a particular orange book causing Kakashi's eye to open wide in shock and fright. It was his latest edition of _Icha Icha_ that was personally signed by Jiraiya when he passed by Konoha and left it for Kakashi.

"W-where did you get that?!" Kakashi asked in panic as he started to pull out the one he had and saw it was blank. He glared at Naruto and knew that teaching him sealing and how to substitute with said sealing had been a mistake. "You wouldn't dare!" He shouted at Naruto as he held the book up while Sasuke was starting up his hand seals. Kakashi knew he was running out of time and out of all his books Naruto just had to get his most prized one….at that moment in time. Sasuke had just finished with the last hand seal before he spoke up.

"Try us," Kakashi looked horrified at the thought of losing that book forever. It was irreplaceable for another year since it was the first print and those were limited as it was. Naruto smirked at him holding up the book.

"Alright! Alright!...*sigh*Fine…here," Kakashi sighed and tossed the trio the bells. When he had them Naruto tossed the book back at him which Kakashi held on tightly. He looked at the three of them with an eye smile. "Congrats you three…you pass. Can have those three bells back now?" Naruto tossed them up and smirked in pride, nothing could ruin this moment…

"NII-SAN!" Almost…almost nothing could ruin this moment. Naruto paled as he was knocked off his feet by an incredible force. Naruto found himself being coddled by Fū like he was a giant teddy bear. This got a giggle out of Hinata and a chuckle out of Sasuke and Kakashi, but that didn't last long before Fū looked up and saw the rest of Naruto's squad. "Oji-san! Nee-san!" Kakashi and Hinata both stopped laughing and paled. Kakashi and Hinata both shared a look, before they dashed out of there like their lives depended on it.

"You okay Naruto?" Sasuke asked as he squatted next to the blonde as soon as Fū left to give a hug to Kakashi and Hinata.

"Yea…" Naruto replied… "Sasuke…why are they four of you?" Sasuke simply sweat dropped at that and pulled Naruto up. Naruto barely got his bearings before he was tackled to the ground by Fū again. It took Sasuke a good 15 minutes to pry Fū off of Naruto and calm her down about their mission to Wave Country. Really Sasuke shouldn't be surprised…he acted the same way when Itachi used to go on mission for a long time; so Fū's actions were justified.

"Nii-san what were you doing here?" Fū asked when she calmed down. Naruto was about to answer until…

"Now I got you!" Everyone turned to see a small boy in a skull cap, with a large scarf around his neck running at them. He yelled out only to trip and face plant on the floor as his foot caught his scarf. He whined a bit in pain as he rubbed his face. He blinked back a few tears and saw everyone was looking at him; there was Fū, some boy with duck hair and a blonde boy with a black mask.

The Fū sighed, "Konohamaru…I wish you would stop these little 'surprise attacks' of yours."

"Shut up I will beat you and have you marry me after I become Hokage!" he said and looked at Naruto and pointed his finger while Fū gained a tick mark on her forehead at his earlier statement. "You're the one that tripped me weren't you!" Naruto's eye twitched and a tick mark grew on his head as well; if there was one thing he hated it was being blamed for someone else's actions.

"Listen brat, it's your own fault for tripping on your own scarf!" He yelled and gripped the Konohamaru by the large scarf trying hard not to smack him. Kurenai always tried to teach him, Anko, and Fū patience although it was never easy for him or anyone else in the family for that matter.

Just then someone else appeared; a special Jonin that was in the standard Konoha shinobi outfit, albeit without the flak jacket. He also wore his forehead protector like a bandanna and circular sunglasses on his face. He had been looking for Konohamaru for the past 20 minutes and had guessed he was trying another attack on his not so hidden crush, Anko Mitarashi's daughter.

"Hey I know you…" Naruto pointed at the man breaking him out of his thoughts, "…aren't you that guy that wet himself when Kaa-san showed us how to interrogate others?" Ebisu looked at Naruto and he knew Naruto Uzumaki, every Jonin knew of the 'Kitsune of the Shinigami' or the 'Legendary Prank King of Konoha' to others; also known to hate any form of perverts. He pushed up his small black shades with a finger and cursed his luck at running into him. The man heard that Anko wanted to teach a class on how to interrogate others while he was volunteered by his comrades and was placed with Anko as the 'Test Subject'. He still hated them for that and gained some respect for two kids for living with her.

"Oh Naruto wasn't it? I didn't know you were here," he said nervously trying to save face as Fū, Sasuke, and Konohamaru were looking at him now. "As for you honorable grandson I wish you wouldn't run off like that. How do you expect me to train you to be a great ninja if you keep running off like that?"

"Wait…you're training this brat?" Naruto asked him not sure if the kid was in good hands or not. He knew that his mom didn't think much of this special Jonin personally, but she did respect his training ability.

"Naruto watch your mouth! This 'brat', as you call him, is the grandson of our Hokage and should be treated as such. Do you treat your mother with the same disrespect?" Ebisu asked him crossing his arms.

"Only to annoy or motivate her to get out of bed now and then." Naruto shrugged and the adult nearly face faulted. Meanwhile Konohamaru was listening in on the whole thing, so far the only thing he learned about this strange blonde was that his mother somehow had scared Ebisu and that Fū was his little sister; he wondered how the older boy could have someone like that.

"Hey you! If you're so great then I want you to train me too!" Naruto sighed.

"I don't have the time to play 'ninja' with you…"

"What's wrong? Am I to much for you to handle?" Konohamaru snickered forgetting that he was being held by Naruto and soon felt a fist connect with the top of his head as he fell to the floor. All the while he heard what sounded like someone say something. As Konohamaru fell to the ground, Naruto placed his hands behind his head and stared to walk away like it was nothing leaving a shocked Sasuke and Ebisu.

"I'm hungry and there's a bowl of ramen calling my name. Come on Fū I'll pay…" he shrugged it off in a Kakashi like manner. 5 minutes after Naruto and Fū left, Konohamaru woke up and immediately went to search for the duo ending up at Ichiraku Ramen. There he was staring at the boy as he just walked by ignoring him, which was something that no one had done to him before. He was the 'Honorable Grandson' of the Sandaime and even though he hated the title no one had blown him off like that before.

So he made a plan to follow Naruto as well as Fū and see what kind of skills the two had and what kind of weaknesses too. Konohamaru was pretty bad at hiding, and his surprise attacks usually ended with him messing up or it backfired on him. After a few hours of this however, Naruto was finally at his breaking point, when he saw a square rock with eye holes following him he snapped while Fū sweat-dropped at him.

"That's it! Look, I don't know what the hell your problem is but stop stalking us! For the record, rocks aren't square and have eye holes!" Naruto yelled at the 'rock' that had been following him. That was when Konohamaru jumped out at him.

"Never, I'll beat you and then I can finally beat my grandfather and marry you sister!" Fū sighed in frustration as Konohamaru came at Naruto with a practice kunai; they were blunted so they didn't cut a person, but still stung when you hit them. Naruto just sighed and grabbed the boy's forearm and effortlessly tossed him into the ground. Naruto stood over him while he groaned and looked back up.

"Look kid why do you want to beat the Hokage anyway?" Konohamaru got into a kneeling position feeling a few aches from his back hitting the ground, he didn't look up at the boy feeling like a failure at moment for not being able to once land any kind of blow.

"You wouldn't understand." Konohamaru replied in a solemn voice. Naruto and Fū shared a look before both of them rested their hands on their hips.

"Try us." Naruto said with a smirk Konohamaru paused for a moment and decided he had nothing to lose; he might as well get this off his chest.

"Everyone calls me 'Honorable grandson' and never by my own name. No one sees me as me but just as the grandson of the Hokage. I want people to see me for me; I want to be more than just the stupid grandson." Naruto stared at the boy for a moment before he softened his deposition.

"Believe it or not, Imōto and I actually know what that's like." Naruto said as Fū walked up to them.

"How could you?" Konohamaru asked him looking up wondering if the two was just making fun of him.

"Our mother is Anko Mitarashi-Uzumaki one of the most famous Tokubetsu Jonin we have in the village." Konohamaru paled at that, he knew who Anko was because he tried to do a sneak attack on his grandfather again and tripped. When he got up, he blamed Anko for it and was faced with a giant snake wrapped around him. Luckily, after he told her who he was she called off the snake and uttered an apology not to him, but to his grandfather.

"How do you think we can compete with someone who's known for being the most sadistic interrogator?" Fū added on. What Naruto didn't mention was his biological father used to be a Hokage too, or the fact that his actually mother was Kushina Uzumaki…or that Fū's mother used to be Takikage before she died. So all-in-all, they had not one but three women and one man that they were in the shadow of, but that didn't disheartened his or Fū's resolve to surpass them.

"And we also know what it's like to be ignored and not to be seen as the person." Naruto added a bit more quietly knowing full well how some people saw both of them only as demons and not as humans…he guessed that Fū still couldn't tell why they were called that. Both Jinchūriki looked down at Konohamaru and couldn't help see that the kid knew some of what they had felt in their life. He was just a boy that was trying to establish that his existence was more than just a name and title someone gave him.

Konohamaru didn't see any deceit from the two that were in front of him; in fact they both seemed really serious about this. Konohamaru slowly got up and for the first time he wondered if he had found people that could understand what it was like to live in the shadow of someone else. Having a grandfather that was Hokage was tough plus he rarely got to see his uncle as much as he would like. He knew that his uncle and his grandfather didn't get along that well for some reason, which sucked because his uncle was one of the few people that treated him other than the 'honorable grandson' which he hated. Now…he might have just found some people that could help him grow out of that shadow.

"Can you help me then? Can you help me get stronger, so that people will see me for me and not as the 'Honorable Grandson'?" Naruto scratched the back of his head not sure what to say. Sure he could just blow Konohamaru off but he reminded him too much of well himself to be honest. To be honest…it would be cool to say that he taught Konohamaru; that was until…

"Nii-san is a shinobi, so he won't be able to teach you much. Besides he has missions to do and I have some free time now and then, but what do you want me to teach you?" Fū asked as Konohamaru's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Teach me a move that can beat Grandpa!" He shouted out pumping his fist in the air. Naruto and Fū thought about that it for a moment and shared a look. There wasn't much outside the Uzumaki Clan Styles that they knew that could be taught a kid. Naruto smirked under his mask at that and then nodded while Fū had an evil glint in her eyes that signaled pain to come.

"Alright then…tomorrow, met Fū at Training Ground 10 and she'll get you started. Also tell the Hokage what you're going to do and make it discreet alright? We don't want anyone to know that Fū here is going to teach you since she is still in the academy." Naruto smiled.

"But…aren't you also going to help?" Naruto shook his head and put up his hands defensively.

"No way! Fū is going to do that…besides I've got another mission in about a week or so." Konohamaru nodded at the answer and left to tell Hiruzen what he was going to do. As Naruto and Fū walked away, Naruto grabbed Fū's arm and stopped her. "Fū…you've got to promise me that you won't teach him anything from the Uzumaki Clan." Fū frown at that.

"But-"

"No buts Fū…you remember what Toki-sensei and Taki-sensei both said about sharing clan secrets. Konohamaru is from Ojii-san's clan so he'll need to learn those instead." Naruto explained with a pleading look in his eyes as Fū nodded. She already knew not to share clan secrets with outsiders, even though she was considered one to others, but that really narrowed the options she needed to teach someone. As the two started to head back home, Naruto also added one last thing to her training. "Also…nothing that could turn him into a possible pervert."

That caused Fū miss a step and fall on her face. After getting up Fū could only say one thing…

"Oh come on!"

- Village Gates {One Week Later} -

Naruto was standing in front of the main gates that lead out of Konoha waiting for everyone else to show up. In the past week a lot and I mean a LOT happened. Naruto and Sasuke got to know Hinata better after their test was done and found out that she wanted to be a medic. Naruto also went over the Hyūga Compound and talked with Hiashi about learning some of the 'Gentle Fist' from him. Hiashi surprisingly agreed and showed Naruto the basics that he managed to copy, with permission, with his Sējigan.

Also in addition to Fū and him making Konohamaru their friend, Naruto also used the week to learn about the Sējigan from his mother and learned more of the complex things that he would need to use…he also got a scolding from not only Anko, but also from Kurama and Kushina as well.

_- Flashback (Naruto's Mindscape) -_

"…_to even think that you would take a mission like this frustrates me to no end!" Kushina ranted as Naruto had his head hung in defeat. It was one thing when his adoptive mother yelled and scolded him, but also having his birth mother and a Tailed-Beast scold him was the worst._

"_What makes it worst is that you didn't think to ask us about our thoughts on taking it! Being born from Kushina and Minato, I would think that some of their rational thinking was passed on to you as well!" Kurama added knowing all to well that Kushina and Minato always thought of the outcomes before taking any mission that was above a D-rank._

"_Things like this need to be taken seriously gaki! All of us know what's it's like to lose something and how it affects others! I don't care if you think that is was the right thing to do; you need to think about the future when something serious happens!" Naruto simply flinched when he heard that. All the while the tears that Naruto was holding back were starting to fall and create ripples in the water that covered the sewer floor. Naruto found that his mindscape would constantly change to whatever he felt or when he was losing himself too much to the truth and the pain that came with it. The latter was what was happening right now._

_All the women felt a major ping of guilt and sadness for what they said to Naruto; they didn't want to, but it needed to be said so Naruto didn't do something like this again. Seeing that Naruto wasn't moving all three women gathered around him and gave him group hug. Minato simply smiled at the four and left to walk the corridors and check out the seal that kept Kurama within Naruto._

_-Flashback end-_

After that talk that he had with the three women, Kushina and Minato started to train Naruto in their abilities. Minato was watching Naruto perfect the 'Rasengan'. What surprised both of them was that Kushina was also learning how to do it to and found the best way to complete the steps. Kushina made something of a figurative images for the steps needed and helped Naruto completely master the 'Rasengan'; at that Naruto held out his hand and began to focus his chakra into it.

'Alright Musuko, now the first step: imagine your chakra is a whirlpool of energy, meant to collects power constantly and let it flow together…' Naruto started to see his chakra gather in his hand. Naruto started to collect even more chakra and heard Minato recite Kushina's hint for the second step…

'Remember Naruto: the shell is like a Tsunami pushed by a strong wind; it will never break so easily and contains the sea within…" Naruto noticed that the chakra in his hands started to form a hard shell and stayed in place. Naruto recited the last hint for mastering the 'Rasengan'.

'The final step: the ball is a maelstrom of power, controlled by wind and mastered with water…This…is the…' The ball that was in Naruto hand solidified and became clear as day. Naruto ran forth and slammed the ball into a nearby tree. (1)

"…Rasengan!" Instantly the ball of chakra bore through the tree as it sent the bark and leaves flying. Naruto started to focus more chakra into it and soon it bore into the center of the tree before the exit blew the tree back side clean out. The result was a nice clean hole that Naruto stuck his hands through and felt the inside of the circle. Naruto was impressed at the power of the 'Rasengan'. "Wow…that is really strong.

'Great job Naruto! You finally mastered what took me years to make!' Minato said as he watched the result of Naruto's 'Rasengan' tear through the tree. Kushina also nodded, happy that her son was following his father's footsteps. Naruto wasn't finished as he quickly flipped through hand-signs and clapped his hands together.

"Hidden Art: Chakra Chains Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as a flurry of chains sprouted from the ground and wrapped around the tree; Naruto lifted his hands up and had the ends of the chains attach to his fingertips. Naruto tugged on his hands and saw the chains start to move and saw the tree into pieces. Giving his hands a violent jerk, Naruto saw the chains snap through the tree and break it up.

'That's my Naruto! A quick learner just like his Kaa-chan!' Kushina ranted as she pumped her hand in the air in victory. Naruto and Minato both sweat-dropped at her actions. Naruto smiled at his success and turned around to see his team, Zabuza and Haku, and everyone's parents shocked at what they just saw. Inside his seal, Kushina and Minato looked on at everyone that was present; what surprised Kushina was that Mikoto was there, but Himikoto wasn't.

"Gaki…what in the seven hells was that?" Zabuza asked as he looked at the now decimated tree. Naruto rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously; it was obvious that, besides Sasuke, Hinata, Zabuza, and Haku, the adult knew the jutsu that he used. Naruto surveyed the faces and saw that Mikoto looked shocked as hell at seeing what he did as well as Kakashi. Fugaku and Hiashi both narrowed their eyes at him and sized him up.

"Uh…my new techniques…?" Naruto said/asked as everyone seemed to increase their gazes at him. Not taking the looks so easily Naruto started to walked away and shouted back to knock everyone out of their trances. Seeing that Naruto was far away everyone said their good-byes and headed out. Mikoto, Fugaku, and Hiashi all looked at each other and nodded before they headed home, one though going throughout all their minds.

'Those were his parents' techniques'

-Boat to Water Country-

Naruto was currently leaning against the side railing of the boat as everyone else was eating lunch. Naruto was staring endlessly at the sea before he was broken out of his thoughts by Haku, Zabuza and Hinata. Haku and Hinata both holding food for him; Haku was holding a drink and a fruit for Naruto while Hinata was holding a sandwich and a rice ball.

"You should Naruto…this mission will be tough and we will need all the strength everyone could muster for it." Haku said as he held out his hands. Naruto nodded and took the food from Haku and Hinata. Everyone watched as Naruto sat down and yawned but noticed that everyone with him were watching as he put an apple to his mask. Besides Kakashi and Zabuza, the other teenslooked in the hopes of seeing him pull down his mask. To their amazement and shock the apple just went through it and there was a bite out of the apple.

"The hell was that!?" Sasuke shouted at him while Haku and Hinata hung their heads in defeat.

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"Don't 'huh' us Naruto," Sasuke said a little angry that he had once again failed to see what was behind his mask. For years everyone tried but only Hinata knew and she wasn't telling. Sasuke was wondering how Naruto did it.

"You got a Genjutsu on your mask correct?" Haku stated as he looked at Naruto. Naruto simply nodded in response to Haku's question.

"I thought that was your worst subject." Sasuke said to him knowing full well that in Genjutsu he had beaten Naruto every time while he had barely passed the subject. Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Heh yeah it is, but I detect them when their being used. Seals though…that is how I found a loophole in doing them."

"That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of and you know it." Sasuke said as everyone sweat dropped at that. Haku was wondering if he could cancel out the jutsu but then realized that Naruto said it was seal based and he knew very little about sealing. He was about to try when he noticed that Naruto had finished the apple and it looked like he mimed pulling on a mask and there was a slight ripple over the mask.

'Another opportunity wasted…' Haku thought as he hung his head knowing that he was wearing the real one this time. Naruto chuckled at them and simply stood up and walked over to the railing again.

"Well, Zabuza…Haku I think you should welcome us to Water Country!" Naruto said as the view of Water Country appeared out of nowhere.

A/N: Finally! This is another chapter done! The next chapter has the team meet with the Rebels and go on some missions.

(1) Notice the terms:

Whirlpool - Uzumaki

Wave and Wind - Namikaze

Maelstrom - Naruto

put that together and you get Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto


	29. Meeting the Rebellion

A/N: This chapter has the team meet the Rebellion.

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking'  
"Jutsu/Technique"  
_Mindscape/Flashback_

In the foggy lands of the Land of water, a team of Mist ninjas are patrolling the area, searching for any rebel that dare defy the Yondaime Mizukage. The mist is a natural defense for the village and the reason why it is called the Hidden Mist Village; the Mist-nin team was on a search mission under the Mizukage's orders as Kirigakure was under attack last night and the rebels were seem retreating to the southwest.

"Have you located them yet?" said the Team captain

"No, this mist is too thick." said one of the other ninja

"Well keep searching; Lord Mizukage wanted those bloodline scum captured so they can be executed." said the Team captain. Then suddenly the ground bursts open and a geyser of hot steam spews out, one of the ninja happen to get caught of the steam and starts screaming in pain. The others watched as the steam started eating off the flesh from his face and the flak jacket is melting away due to the acidity of the steam. The unfortunate Mist-nin died a slow and painful death as his face is left nothing but bones. Then more Geysers spout out from the ground, surrounding the team.

"Damn it, she's here" said Team ninja "Come out, blood-line whore!"

"Now that's not a very nice thing to say to a woman." Said a voluptuous female voice as she stepped out from the mist and stood in front of the team. She looked like she was in her late 20's, long auburn hair, green eyes and a face so beautiful that every man swoons over for her. Her body was illegally beautiful being well built and her breasts are a D-cup size. Her clothes made her sexier as she is wearing a dark blue Kimono that only goes up to her thighs, she also had mesh clothing underneath her Kimono and her cleavage is well exposed.

"Mei Terumi, leader of the Rebels. You Blood-line scum are nothing but trouble for the Mizukage." Mei simply pouted at the team.

"Now, now, now…calling a woman like me a whore isn't very nice; you mean men." Mei said as she crossed her arms.

"If it weren't for those accursed blood-lines in your body, then we would call you beautiful." said the Team Leader "You damn freak!"

"Now I'm angry" said Mei growled angrily as she inhaled deeply "Vapour Style: Solid Fog Jutsu" and breathed out a cloud of corrosive steam from her mouth at the mist-nin. The steam made them scream in pain as they fell to their death. "That's the reason I'm a war with your Mizukage, so that those with a Blood-line will live peacefully and not in hiding from this dreaded Holocaust." Mei Terumi said as she walked away from the skeletons of the dead Mist-nin that now littered the path.

-Path in Water Country-

Team seven was traveling through the Land of Water by taking a ride on a farmer's cart. Ironically, the passing farmer owns a farm near Kirigakure and agreed to let the 4 Konoha ninjas hitch a ride. Naruto was lying on the hay while Kakashi was reading his usual smut to pass the time. Sasuke was meditating and Hinata was looking around with her Byakugan to spot any enemy nearby.

"Say Kakashi-sensei, wouldn't happen to know about this civil war that's happening, would you?" said Naruto asked as he looked at the gray sky caused by the mist. Sasuke and Hinata's eyes shot wide open at Naruto's question and looked at Kakashi for answers.

"Sorry Naruto, but Konoha and Water Country aren't allies so nothing was said except that it was used to target anyone who has a blood-line." said Kakashi "Before any of you start anything, I manage to have someone craft these for you. Just place them on your chest and it'll hide your blood-line from everyone." Kakashi said as he pulled out three slips of paper that had a seal on them and the Kanji for 'Hide' on them. The three Genin took the slips and placed them on their chests…well Hinata was a little nervous and asked the boys turned away to give her some peace.

"Kakashi-sensei…why don't you have one?" Hinata asked when she noticed that there were only three slips.

"Huh? Oh, well my Sharingan is constantly active. If I were to use one of those then it would be rendered useless because the seals on the paper shut off the blood-line to hide it until it can be activated again. You all have something that can be activated at free will so it would hide them. For instance look at yourself." Kakashi finished as he pulled out one of his blades and showed Hinata her eyes.

Hinata gasped as she looked at her eyes and saw that instead of the lavender tinted white eyes of the Hyūga; hers were a pair of normal hazel colored eyes. Hinata activated her eyes and everyone noticed that the veins that bulged on the sides of her head didn't appear but she could still see like she had them on. Sasuke and Naruto were both surprised at this and looked each other before they shrugged their shoulders and went back to what they were doing.

"What you think Zabuza and Haku are doing right now anyway? They didn't say anything about where they were going." Sasuke asked as he looked around.

"Hard to say…" said Kakashi "Once we reach the Rebel base you could probably ask them where they went."

"Yeah" said Naruto until he got curious about the rebels in the Land of Water. "I wonder how it all started anyway." It wasn't until they stopped talking that the farmer spoke up.

"You haven't heard?" he said "There's a civil war in Kiri; the Rebels are a members of ninja clans that inherit bloodlines. When the Kaguya Clan attacked and were all killed off; the Yondaime Mizukage got paranoid that those with a Bloodline would turn against him. As a result from his paranoia, he formed this Holocaust and sentenced those who have a Blood-line to death."

"That bastard" Naruto said angrily, on the inside Kushina and Minato were equally pissed that they heard that. "How could he do such a thing, even to his people?"

"Even leaders must do harsh things to stay in power." said Kakashi "The Mizukage might have to eliminate a few people in order to preserve the peace of the village. Take the Uchiha Clan for example…" Kakashi stopped when he saw Sasuke glare at him. Naruto understood what Kakashi is getting at; The Uchiha Clan was plotting to invade Konoha for themselves and caused Itachi massacred them for it. Sadly Sasuke didn't hear about this for some reason and the only reason Naruto knew about was because he heard the Mizukage and Sasuke's parents talk about it once when he was staying at the tower waiting for his mother and sister.

-Path to Kirigakure-

As Team Seven were walking along the path, a thick mist started to kick in; not even the sun can pierce through this thick dense fog as they walked on. Kakashi and Naruto pull out their Kunai in case they run into Mist-nin as they are in their territory. Sasuke and Hinata both activated their eyes and walked on through the foggy lands. The team carefully went through the forests and around small lakes; Kakashi has his book put away, focused in case someone decided to strike at them in or from the water. He was right about his instincts as a squadron of Hunter-nin ascended from the water and prepared to strike.

'Musuko, look out!' Kushina shouted as a Hunter-nin dashed towards Naruto in a silent attempt to kill him.

*CLANG*

'Thanks Kaa-chan!' Naruto said as he blocked the attack with his Kodachi and saw Sasuke kick to the Hunter-nin's face, sending the ANBU flying towards a tree

"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" The flaming ball was sent to the down Hunter-nin and hit with an explosion, killing him. The battle had begun as more ANBU charge at Team seven with their weapons drawn ready to kill.

"Konoha ninja, you are in Water Country without permission from the Mizukage." said the captain "Leave now or die."

"I don't think so…" said Naruto as he goes into a battle stance and as he activated his Sējigan without his mask on while Kakashi lifted his headband up to expose his Sharingan. Sasuke and Hinata still had their own dōjutsu activated as well. None of the Hunter-nin knew about the Genins' eyes because of the seal placed on them, so they stood their ground and looked at Kakashi and saw his Sharingan showing proudly.

"We're on a mission" Sasuke stated with a serious voice.

"They're reinforcements for the rebels and are guarding a Blood-line carrier, kill them!" the captain shouted in anger as he started .

"Hai!" Team Seven was already on the move with Hinata covering Naruto and Kakashi covering Sasuke. As began their fight, Kakashi managed to dodge the lethal swipes from the swords and kunai and distracted them with Sasuke while Naruto and Hinata flanked them and started jab at their pressure and chakra points to incapacitate them. Naruto was actually glad that he was able to learn the Hyūga's Gentle Fist for this. With his Sējigan activated to the water sight, he was able to see the pressure and chakra points in his enemies and began to attack them accordingly.

Naruto has been practicing this style when he had the chance and was glad he did; it was his version of the Hyūga's Gentle Fist. Naruto continued with his style on the hunter-nin; many of them collapsed in pain as their bodies became overwhelmed with pain from Naruto and Hinata's assault. Everyone was even amazed at this new form that was inspired by the Hyūga's Gentle Fist and how well Naruto dealt with them.

"Impressive, Naruto" said Kakashi "I never saw that technique before."

"It's new…" said Naruto as he jabbed the last of the hunter-nin in the neck and stomach, causing him to collapse on the ground grunting in pain. "…I haven't come up with a name for it yet but Hinata-chan's dad liked it too."

"Huh!?" Kakashi exclaimed "Hiashi liked the Gentle Fist being copied with a difference!?" Then suddenly the captain got to his feet, resisting the pain and charges to kill Naruto.

"DIE, MONSTER!" He shouted but was cleaved in half by something that managed to nick Naruto's cheek. Blood seeps down from the dead body as it spilt into two. Team seven was shocked, Hinata even more, to see the man .

"Kami…can't leave you alone for an hour and you're already getting attention drawn to yourselves." said a familiar voice as Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Sup Zabuza." Naruto said as Haku took off his mask and looked over everyone. Zabuza nodded as he exited the mist and saw the hunter-nin groaning in pain.

"I'm impressed of the show; shame there weren't any fatalities…except mine that is." Zabuza said with a chuckle.

"We're not cold blooded like you, Zabuza. We'll kill if we need to, not when we want to."

"Whatever brat; anyway, let's get out of here before more of these idiots show up."

"Hai" Team Seven said as they then follow Zabuza and Haku

-Main Rebel Base-

Mei Terumi was bored of listening to the generals that were currently in her main tent. They were they to start strategizing a plan to overthrown Yagura and claim Kirigakure as their own so that everyone with a bloodline can live in peace. She was so bored that it was laughable to her for even leading them since she didn't really feel professional at the moment.

"Ao...AO!" Mei shouted as the Generals finished up their plans and left.

"Yes, Mei-sama?" said Ao; a man with blue hair and a grey eye as the other one is covered with an eye patch. He is wearing a blue-green kimono and a dirty yellow striped undershirt. The guy was also Mei's personal bodyguard.

"I'm bored…" said Mei deadpanned as Ao sweat-dropped at her.

"Mei-sama, we must be serious about this; we're nearly reaching victory." Ao stated and sighed at Mei's childish behavior; she was a serious leader when it comes to serious situations…like the civil war they are in; but she can act really childish sometimes when nothing exciting is happening.

"Ao...has Zabu-chan found them yet?" said Mei as she sighed. Zabuza had returned to camp with Haku and explained that he brought some help from Konoha. He went into detail about the group and also explained that Ameyuri was also pregnant. Mei was surprised at that, but kept her mouth shut for the time being.

"Not yet. He's still out there…" Ao said as he looked over the entire base. It was nothing but tents and tables that were set up. Mei sighs out of boredom as she rests her head on the table.

"Ao...I'm hungry, give me a snack." Mei said.

"Right away Mei-sama." Ao said as he left the room to get some for Mei to eat.

'Kami, I'm bored; I want some action and I don't care what it is…' Mei thought as she looked over the camp like Ao did. After five minutes of waiting, Mei's stomach growled.

"AO! WHERE'S MY SNACK!" Mei shouted impatiently, causing Ao to flinch with fear as he dashes to the mess hall. As Ao rushed as fast as he could so he wouldn't have to die a horrible death, he saw Zabuza and Haku returning to the base with some Konoha Shinobi.

"Oh, so you've arrived…and you didn't screw up this time too." Ao said with some humor.

"Oh fuck off, Blue boy" Zabuza said towards Ao "You always piss me off every time I'm back from a mission."

"Well you _do_ screw things up if I'm not mistaken. Remember your mission to capture one of Yagura's main commanders?" Ao asked getting a click from Zabuza's tongue.

"That man was pissing me off anyways…" scoffs Zabuza "I'm a professional killer and I killed him."

"Whatever" Ao said as he then turned away and started walking "This way if you would please." The 6 followed Ao to where Mei was at. Naruto scanned around to see rebels training hard, forging weapons and mastering their bloodline and jutsu. Ao saw this and talked like he read Naruto's mind.

"Every single member of the rebellion is a fugitive of the Holocaust. They were rescued from their demise by Mei Terumi, who as not 1 but 2 bloodlines. Here we are…" They arrived at the tent where Mei resided and strategized her plans. She heard Ao and called to him as everyone neared the tent.

"Ao...did you get my snack?" said Mei while Ao stiffened up a bit.

"Er…no I didn't." said Ao "Zabuza and Haku have returned with the Konoha shinobi they mentioned about when they arrived earlier."

"Well done, Zabu-chan" Mei congratulated through the walls.

"WILL YOU STOP CALLING ME THAT?" Zabuza shouted.

"Zabu…-chan?" Kakashi chocked out trying not to laugh and looked up from his book

"It's a nickname Mei gave me…" Zabuza growled out.

"Sucks for you...Zabu-chan" Ao said with bursting out laughing. Zabuza grew a tick mark on his head and turned to Ao.

"Shut it, little blue!" Zabuza shouted

"Would you stop calling me that!?" Ao shouted back angrily. Zabuza crossed his arms and smirked under his wrappings.

"Make me" Zabuza growled out at Ao. Both of the rebels glared daggers at each other and growling angrily; they both despise each other and want to kill them.

"You want to take this somewhere else?" Ao asked

"Gladly…" said Zabuza "I wanted to kick your ass for a long time. Leaving to a personal area would do you good so no one could see you getting your ass beat."

"Why you…" Ao started until Mei shouted his name.

"Ao, stop making out with Ame-chan's boyfriend…" said Mei in her tent "I can here, it sounds like *slurping*…I don't think Ame-chan would appreciate that." Ao paled at that and hung his head in defeat. It was always the women that beat him down to the ground.

"I'm sorry, Mei-sama" Ao said, now humiliated as Zabuza is laughing his ass off. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing" said Zabuza as he walks away "I'm off to train; Haku let's go."

"Hai" Haku nodded before he left.

"Bastard…" Ao muttered and he turned his attention to Kakashi and his team. "Now then, let us meet Mei-sama shall we?" Ao entered the tent with everyone following. Inside the tent was a major contrast to what it looked outside; it was beautifully decorated with dark blue silk curtains and pillows. Mei is sitting on a soft round bed with dark blue bed covers; she is reading some reports while eating a box of chocolates that rested on her lap.

"Eh…Mei-sama, where did you get the chocolates?" Ao asked already knowing the answer.

"Not telling~" Mei said in a sing-song voice, not looking at Ao and popping another chocolate in her mouth.

"You went to Kiri and stole them didn't you?" Ao asked.

"Don't know what you are talking about~" Mei said in the same tone.

"Mei-sama, you shouldn't go to Kiri on your own; what if you were caught?" Ao asked.

"I can take care of my own Ao I'm not a child." Mei said while popping another piece of chocolate in her mouth. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"You forgot?" said Ao "Zabuza arrived with his guests…" stepping aside to show Team Seven.

"Oh…" Mei said in a 'not interested' tone and ate another chocolate. Ao sighs at her and starts rubbing his temples, Naruto chuckles at Mei as she did seem funny when she acted like this.

"Is she always like this?" Naruto asked as Ao nodded.

"Most of the time when we have nothing to do is she like this." Ao responded to Naruto "Yet despite that trait, she's a skilled and powerful Kunoichi. Water Country has to offer her as our strongest…that is until Yagura came to power."

"Who is this 'Yagura' anyway?" Naruto asked.

"Yagura is the Yondaime Mizukage. He is also the Jinchūriki of the Sanbi no Kyodaigame." At this Naruto and Kakashi both stiffened up when they heard, but no one noticed that

'The Mizukage is Jinchūriki of the Sanbi?' Naruto thought as Mei stopped reading the reports she had and looked up at Ao before she realized that Team Seven was in the tent as well. Someone caught her eye that she seemed interested in. Mei took a good look at Naruto and hmm'ed at him as she got up and started to walk towards him eventually circling him like a vulture would do to a dying man in a desert.

Everyone backed away from the two as Mei continued to circle around Naruto. Naruto for one was confused as Mei circled around him and kept hmm'ing at him. Meanwhile Kakashi was having a slight nosebleed from staring at Mei's form while Sasuke was blushing at her figure as well; the only one not enjoying anything about this woman was Hinata…

'How dare she check out Naruto-kun like that! He isn't a piece of meat for someone to stare at! I wouldn't care if she was Mizukage; I won't hesitate to fight her for him!' Hinata ranted in her mind as she watched Mei circle Naruto. On the outside though, she was blushing and tapping her fingers together. Inside Naruto's seal, Kushina was having the exact same thoughts while Minato and Kurama held her back.

"Hmm…nice build, young *sniff* Oh…massive chakra reserve. What's your name?" Mei asked as she slid a finger under Naruto's chin. Naruto for one was freaking the fuck out. It was never a good thing if a woman favors you over others. Naruto was glad that he knew the signs of trouble at the moment and took the time to .

"I-its N-Naruto U-Uzumaki, M-Mei-s-sama…pleasure to meet you." Naruto stuttered out causing Mei to frown at him.

"You can call me Mei, I hate the -Sama; makes me feel old." Mei said as she looked at Naruto. After a while Mei smiled and placed a hand on Naruto's head. "You'll do alright. You should all rest, Ao show the two Genin to a tent. I'll talk to Kakashi and Naruto here for more details about their teams abilities." Ao nodded and shooed Sasuke and Hinata out of the room. Mei turned to Kakashi and stared at him with an impassive face.

"Uh…"

"Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan; Zabu-chan has told me about your excellent skills back in Wave Country as well as Naruto here too. I am surprised that Zabu-chan requested your team, but he's always had a good sense of others' skill. In three weeks we claim Kiri and end this dreaded Holocaust." Naruto noticed Mei's cheery and childish personality turn into a serious and cold one. It seems the Holocaust in Kiri affected her badly.

"What can we do to help, Mei-san" Kakashi said with confidence as Mei nodded.

"Our armies are outnumbered and we'll need Naruto's Shadow Clone and your knowledge of Jutsus to aid us into the final assault." said Mei serious and saw Kakashi and Naruto's shocked expressions. "Zabuza told me everything, including Naruto and the mission in Wave. Please, we need your assistance; if we succeed, we'll form an alliance to your village when I reclaim Kiri and become Mizukage myself."

"I understand. We will do what we can to succeed." Kakashi said with a nod.

"That's right; we will help you, Mei-chan" said Naruto causing Mei to smile.

"Thank you, you two…" Naruto suddenly stiffened and looked around the area with his Water sights activated, not that Mei knew, and started closing the tent's entrance while placing a seal on the entrance flaps. Mei and Kakashi look on with interest as Naruto placed seals all around the room. When Naruto came back Mei asked a simple question. "What are you doing Naruto?" Naruto didn't answer as he pulled his mask down and showed Mei what he was hiding.

'Kami, he's CUTE!' Mei mentally shouted when she saw the whisker marks on the sides of his face. Mei couldn't help herself as she wrapped her arms around Naruto while also shoving his head into her breast and continued to hug him like a teddy bear. Naruto blushed an all new version of red as his head was buried into Mei's breasts but manages to keep his head calm…both of them. Kakashi was a different story since he had a small note book and was quickly writing down a long series of notes from what he was seeing.

"Oh you are a cutie, Naruto." Mei said happily as she twirled around with Naruto still in her arms.

"Well that's good to hear but…" muffled Naruto with his head is still buried in her breasts "Uh…could you, you know…let go of my head? It's really hard to breathe right now."

"Oops!" said Mei as she releases Naruto and blushes "Sorry about that…I'm a sucker for anything cute."

"It's okay" Naruto replied. He immediately turned serious and went through a series of hand-signs before he slammed his open palm onto the ground. "Uzumaki Art: Gathering minds!" Mei and Kakashi widen their eyes as they saw a seal ran down Naruto's arm and was placed on the floor. Both of them stiffened when it started to spread and turned everything around them into darkness; Mei looked towards Naruto and saw that he was also gone.

_-Naruto's Seal-_

"_Naruto? Naruto!" Mei called out and only received an echo as an answer. Mei was about to call out again, but Kakashi stopped her, by tapping her shoulder and pointed to a little fox that had its head pop out from around a non-existent corner that hid the rest of its body. Mei couldn't help but let out an 'aww' at seeing the little fox and how it looked. Walking up to it Mei saw that it wasn't afraid of either of them and walked out to Mei's outstretched hand. Mei picked up the little fox and began rub its fur and squeezed the life out of it like she did with Naruto._

"_What's a fox doing here? And where's Naruto." The fox let out a yip at hearing Naruto's name and jumped out of Mei's grasp. Chasing its tail for a bit, the fox yipped and pointed its body in one direction. "Is it showing us where Naruto is?" Kakashi asked as the fox yipped again. Mei simply shrugged her shoulders and followed the fox as it started to leave. Kakashi took a moment and then followed the two. On the way, the two noticed that water was starting to build up around their feet, but something else caught Mei's attention._

"_Is…is that fox walking on water?!" Kakashi quickly looked at the fox they were following and sure enough the fox was walking on the water. The water was only about ankle deep to Kakashi and Mei, but to the fox it was about to its neck. Mai and Kakashi watched in amazement as the fox trotted along the top of the water like it was normal ground._

"_I-impossible…" Kakashi stuttered out as he looked on._

"_Well Kakashi, nothing's impossible in here." Kakashi and Mei both turned around and were shocked to see Naruto…along with the__Kyūbi__, a redhead, and older looking Naruto. Mei was surprised to the __Kyūbi__ standing right in front of her; Kakashi was equally surprised but not as surprised at seeing…_

"_M-M-Minato-Sensei?" Minato nodded and smiled at he looked at Kakashi. The redhead stood next to Minato and took hold of his hand; It only took Kakashi a moment to figure out who she was, "K-Kushina?!" Kushina nodded in confirmation and looked on at the two who were still wrapping their minds around this._

"_You've seemed to have grown up, eh Kakashi? I expected nothing less from one of my students. How've you been? Naruto's been saying a lot about your skill, I gotta say, I'm impressed you kept moving after everything that's happened." Minato along with Naruto and Kushina walked over the water to the two_

_For the next hour or so Naruto disclosed everything to Kakashi and Mei, not including the fact that Naruto could also bring back some people from the dead, but Kakashi would figure that out eventually. Mei was shocked that Kushina, one of her old rivals after the Third Shinobi War ended, had a child; even more so that Naruto was that child. Mei and Kakashi also learned of Naruto's abilities and what he was able to do. As a bonus the two were also blown back that __the Kyūbi no Kitsune was actually_ _the Kyūbi no Vixen just like everyone else that found out._

-Real World-

Mei and Kakashi were both exhausted as soon as they exited Naruto's mindscape. Mei fell on the bed that she was sitting on earlier and Kakashi flopped down at the table where the Generals were sitting before they all left. From all time they were in there they thought that at least it was morning…they thought wrong…

"Come you two it's only been… *Looks outside* like ten minutes…"

"WHAT!?" Naruto fell back from both Mei and Kakashi yelling the same thing in his face. When he got back up, he was grabbed by the shoulder from Mei who looked than when they first met her.

"What do you mean it's only been ten minutes Naruto!?" Mei asked as tears started falling from her face. Kakashi had the same look, but it was more comical with it only being one eye. Naruto simply gave a fox-like smile and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well…in my mindscape a half day there is only like five minutes here heheheh…" Mei groaned at that and let got of Naruto and walked over to her bed. Kakashi simply fell asleep with head on the table. Within minutes Mei and Kakashi were both asleep and out like a rock. Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the and went to looked for Sasuke and Hinata.

{Three Days Later}

In the three days Team Seven were at the Rebel Base, Mei managed to have a meeting with all of the members and wrote down their strengths and abilities as well as their weaknesses and disadvantages. She was pleasantly surprised to see that every single one of them covered each other's weaknesses.

In that time, Kakashi, with the help of Minato, Kushina, and Naruto bringing him to be able to have faith again, was able to help out Sasuke and Hinata in improving their style while they waited. Naruto and Sasuke were in a spar when Ao and Mei's other bodyguard, a boy named, Chōjūrō, that was apart of the Seven Swordsman and wielded the Hiramekarei, appeared. As Naruto landed an uppercut and sent Sasuke back Ao intervened.

"Sorry for breaking up this fight, but Mei-sama wishes to see all of you. She said that she has a mission for you to take." Kakashi nodded while Ao and Chōjūrō left the four. After fifteen minutes, they were sitting in front of Mei who was looking over some papers. Stamping on of them, Mei looked up with a smile and showed the paper that she just stamped.

"Alright you four, I have a mission for to do. We're expecting a shipment of supplies from the locals nearby. These supplies are needed to help us win the battle against the Mizukage and his forces. You job is to meet the caravan in a nearby town and escort them here. Simple enough and I'll pay you like any other mission you'll get; this one will likely be a C-ranked mission. Here are the directions to the town; it's about a half-day's travel there so gear up and get us those supplies."

"Alright you three, you know what you need to do, get your stuff and meet me just north of the camp and we'll head out." The team nodded and went to get their things; no one knew that the shit was about to hit the fan very soon.

A/N: Another chapter done. What do you think? I'll put up a poll on what you want to do with Yagura when they start fight. Next time Naruto meets a ass of a Samurai, one of his old teachers, and starts to question his motives for being a ninja…it may be shorter that usual.


	30. Questioning Yourself

A/N: This chapter has the team meet the Rebellion.

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking/Connection Talk'  
"Jutsu/Technique"  
_Mindscape/Flashback  
_**"Demon/Summon Speaking"  
'Demon/Summon thinking'**

- Kirigakure (Mizukage Tower) -

In the Mizukage Tower, the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura, was busy doing dong the bane of all Kages…paperwork. Yagrua was in his 20s but appearance was that of a child/young adult. He had pink pupil-less eyes, which a scar that was stitched under his left eye all the way down his cheek ran under, and had short messy grey hair. He was wearing his Mizukage robes and a forest green scarf around his neck. While he continued on with his paperwork a Hunter-nin, that managed to escape his encounter with Team Seven, arrived in the office via a splash of water.

"Report" Yagura said as he continued on with his work not bothering with looking up.

"Lord Mizukage *grunt* we have a problem" the Hunter-nin grunted out in pain "It appears that Mei Terumi now has an alliance from another shinobi nation."

"Interesting…how many did she ask for, 50 men, 100 perhaps?" Yagura asked still not looking up from his paperwork.

"Four sir *grunt* it was a group of Genin and a Jonin that accompanied them. One of them had blonde hair, another had Raven black hair and the last had a hint of blue to hers; also, *grunt* a Jonin we believe to be Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan. This suggests that all four of them came from Konohagakure sir." the Hinter-nin reported.

"Only four shinobi; Add to the fact there were mere Genin and one Jonin?" Yagura asked surprised at this until he shrugs "No matter. It wouldn't make a difference whether it was four shinobi or an entire nation that came here."

"But Lord Mizukage, *grunt* they were no mere Genin. The blonde for instance…he was able to target our pressure points; the girl was able to target our chakra points as well and the last boy was easily able to outmaneuver our attacks. We *grunt* all believe that we were facing blood-line users. They managed to escape with the help of Zabuza *grunt* Momochi and another who wore a mask of one of our Hinter-nin."

"Hn…these four ninja sound like the other roaches that once infested our village." Yagura said to no one in particular, "Now leave; I have work to do."

"But Mizuka-GAH!" the Hunter-nin yelled out as Yagura impaled his heart with a piece of coral.

"When I gave you an order, you obey it" Yagura stated in a serious and threatening tone to the now dead man. He snapped his fingers to summon another Hunter-nin, "Throw this…filth into the sea. The sharks are getting hungry and would like a little feast."

"As you wish Mizukage-sama." The Hunter-nin replied with a bow before he picked up his dead comrade and left in a splash of water signifying that he was no longer there. Yugura stopped working on the papers and got up. Walking towards the window that looked over the entire village of Kirigakure, he let out a sigh.

"It seems that Mei-chan is preparing to finish this little war." As Yagura said that another hunter-nin appeared and immediately bowed. "Report."

"Excuse me Mizukage-sama; reports show sightings of a rather large Caravan heading south with a large inventory of kunai, shuriken and armor along with other shinobi gear. Also it seems that a group, consisting of the Konoha shinobi, is also accompanying them as a means for guarding their supplies."

"Anything else to report?"

"No Mizukage-sama." Yagura stayed silent for about a minute or two before he spoke again.

"Very well; take a team of anyone you think would finish the job quickly. Also…have 'him' go along with you; it seems that he doesn't like to be kept waiting." The hunter-nin stiffened when Yagura said 'him' but nodded at the request.

"At once Mizukage-sama."

"Good; now leave." Yagura didn't get a vocal answer, but the sound of splashing water told him that he was alone once again. "Well played Mei; getting that group to follow you, but this little war of yours will end soon." Just then a figure appeared behind Yagura and let out an evil chuckle while Yagura stood still like a lifeless puppet.

-Random Cliffside Road-

Naruto was currently sitting on top of one of the carts that were traveling with the Caravan they were to be protecting. It was currently the third day into the mission; and there had been no action to keep anyone occupied causing everyone to slack a little. The trip was about half a day's journey, but that was because they went through the forest to reach the village. The rather large Caravan, of about 20 carts, couldn't do that and had to take a different route to get back to the rebel base. Naruto sighed as he looked passed the cliff the road was on and saw one of the few times the mist cleared.

'Something wrong Naruto?' Minato asked scaring the hell out of Naruto since he didn't give a warning. Naruto wasn't really paying attention since everything was really quiet so he was quickly caught off guard. He quickly shook off his fright and shook his head.

'Nothing really…the last three days seemed to go by really slowly.' Naruto though back in reply. Minato nodded his head at that; those three days were like a month in Naruto's mind. 'Tou-chan…can I ask you a question?'

'You just did Naruto…but what ever you want to know, go ahead.' Naruto sweat-dropped at falling for something so stupid and hung his head in shame before he looked up again.

'When you sealed Kurama inside of me…did you also seal a part of her chakra into yourself?' Minato was thrown off by this question and actually put some thought into it. "Tou-chan…?'

"Hmm? Ah, sorry Naruto, I was just thinking about what you said…'

'…and?'

'I think I did take some of her chakra. The jutsu that I used was supposed to take the soul of whomever I wanted Shinigami-sama to take along with the one who cast the jutsu. I wasn't able to take all of Kurama's soul with me and decided that you would need it at some point in life. Before that half of Kurama's soul was taken, I manage to take out the chakra the piece of soul had and sealed it within me. The half of chakra that I sealed within in me was the Yin chakra; meaning that you have the Yang Chakra within you.' Naruto nodded at this.

'So…this means that you're…like a pseudo-Jinchūriki?' Minato thought about that for moment.

'I guess that it does.'

'So in essence…you could become my other half and also use Kurama's chakra as well? You could use copy my movements and use the same techniques right?' Naruto asked seeing as his dad was technically like him in both appearance and now power.

'Not exactly; remember, Yin and Yang are the almost opposites of each other. Whatever abilities that you possess from having the Kurama's Yang in you are different from the Yin sealed in me. For instance, say that you are able to chakra arms because of the Yang…I could lack that trait and have it replaced with something else that would make it seem like I have it. Another example, say that I am able to easily use substitutions or other forms of illusion; you would likely lack that trait and have it substituted for something else like increased speed or strength to make it seem like you have it as well.

'Oh yea… the Yang represents the ability to make things a reality and take on a physical form…' Minato nodded at that, "…While the Yin represents the idea of those things and cast them without a physical form.'

'Exactly. Now is there-'

*Boom*

"CHARGE!"

- Waterfall above Caravan {10 minutes earlier} -

A young man around the age of 23 was standing a top a waterfall. He wore a pair of Light blue pants with a cross-haired symbol on them, a blue and gold haori, and bamboo shin-guards and arm-guards along with traditional samurai sandals. His hair was put in pony-tail while some of it in front was still loose. He was widely known as the 'Demon Samurai of the Murakami Clan' (1) and was ready to kill.

Spotting the caravan that he was told about, the man smirked and grabbed the handle of his trusty Katana: Korefuji.

"Alright…looks like were going to have a little fun…" the others that were around him didn't say or show anything, but on the inside they were a little frightened of him. Tightening the grip on his sword, the man motioned to move out and surround the area.

"Everything is ready…" a shinobi said as he appeared out of nowhere. The man nodded and looked at the caravan as it passed by. Raising his hand and tightening it into a fist; an explosion happened.

"CHARGE!" the sound of at least 35 people yelling out in agreement filled the air as the cliff-side became a battle ground filled with shinobi and samurai.

{Present time}

Naruto was immediately cut off from the connection with Minato when his entire body was thrown onto the road. Looking around Naruto saw his team along with some of the other civilian guards fighting. Looking around, Naruto saw that the people who were attacking were a mixture of Samurai and Mist-nin. Naruto's sense heightened when he saw that everything quickly turned into a raging war.

"Hiyah!" Naruto moved on instinct, and was lucky he did, when he was barely missed being stabbed by one of the samurai. Quickly unsealing his own katana, Naruto countered the samurai as he charged forward. Repelling the blade, Naruto quickly stabbed the man in the stomach and kicked him away while sealing away one of his Kodachi. He figured this would be a good way to earn some souls for the Shinigami.

"Naruto look out!" Naruto heard Kakashi yell at him as he blocked another samurai behind him. Activating his Sējigan and using his fire sight, Naruto quickly killed the man and stabbed him with the death blade effectively taking the man's soul. After that, Naruto quickly ran through the crowd of people and began to either kill or knock out as much shinobi and samurai as he could.

_-Inside Naruto's Seal-_

_Kushina and Kurama were currently trying to contact Naruto or see what was going on. Minato was looking at the seal and seeing if something was wrong._

"_What's going on out there?! What happened Minato?" Kushina yelled as Kurama was still trying to connect with Naruto. Minato was currently being shaken like a ragdoll by his wife and getting dizzy from it. When Kushina stopped, Minato took a moment to stand up straight before he answered._

"_Your guess is as good as mine, Kushina-koi. I was talking to Naruto when all of a sudden the connection was cut and Naruto was thrown off his balance. I can guess that it was an explosion happened before you two woke up and the connection to Naruto was lost." Kushina let out a frustrated sigh as she went back to trying to connect to Naruto. All of a sudden a bright light filled the area and blinded all three; when it faded all three adults immediately bowed as the Shinigami stepped out._

"_**Do not worry Kushina, it was I who cut the connection to your son."**__ The Shinigami spoke out._

"_What!?" Kushina asked in a frantic voice that the Shinigami would do something like that to her and Minato._

"_**Yes, I have noticed that you, Minato, and Kurama have been watching over Naruto and were guiding him too much in my opinion. I wanted to see how young Naruto would be able to fare if you three weren't able to give him help."**__ The Shinigami explained as it opened part of the connection to let the three see what was going on, but not be able to talk to Naruto vice-versa. All three of them were shocked that there was a small war going on at that moment and Naruto was currently cutting down a number of samurai that were attacking while also taking their souls away._

"_**Shinigami-sama, if I may ask…did you know that this would happen? Or did you sense that something like this was about to happen?"**__ Kurama asked as Naruto sliced another samurai's arm off while also decapitating another that was bent over behind him. The Shinigami nodded at this, but didn't explain any more on which answer he chose._

_-_Outside the Seal_-_

'KAA-CHAN! TOU-CHAN! KURAMA! IF ANY OF YOU COULD HEAR ME, PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!' Naruto shouted in his mind as he dodged another horizontal slice to his neck. He was getting scared that his connection to his mind was severed. 'DAMMIT! If I don't focus then I'll likely die from something I didn't see!' Naruto berated himself as he focused on the battle. Naruto saw that the ambush group, that was attacking the caravan, had about 35 samurai and 15 Mist-nin with them. At that moment, Naruto counted about 28 samurai that he was able to kill and 6 Mist-nin that his team was likely able to kill.

"Naruto to your left!" Naruto sliced another samurai's neck with his Kodachi and jumped back as another katana crashed down on the spot that he occupied. Looking at the person that wielded the blade, Naruto saw a man that had his hair in a pony-tail but didn't have any armor. That told him the man was either new at this or that he was skilled enough to no even need the use of it; Naruto's thoughts were fixed on the latter when he saw that the man had experience written in his eyes.

[With the rest of Team 7]

Kakashi was just fishing off the last of the shinobi that were attacking that caravan. He had sent Hinata to help the civilians gather and move what ever they could save to the camp. Sasuke was also sent to provide assistance since he was able to use his Sharingan now. That didn't mean it was easy for them since Kakashi had to send a shadow clone to pick up any loose ends that were left from the two Genin. He was surprised that Hinata was able to take the death that was starting to surround them easily since he had no known record of her witnessing it first-hand.

Sasuke and Naruto were a different story. He knew were able they would be able handle it better than Hinata, considering what their past was and what happened. Sasuke witnessed his entire clan get killed in front of him by Itachi casting something on him and Naruto had faced multiple times where his life was on the line, adding to the fact that the two already killed added to that confirmation.

'The two were the reason that the 'Demon Brothers' were dead.' Kakashi thought as he ran towards what was left of the large caravan. Kakashi suggested that the 'Demon Brothers' be killed because he wanted to use that to get the fear of death out of their systems, but Naruto still had a hard time now and then from what he had seen in Wave Country. Stopping those thoughts at the moment, Kakashi arrived to see Sasuke fire a large fire ball at one of the Mist-nin and sent him flying off the cliff.

As Hinata jabbed the last off person, Kakashi looked around to spot Naruto. Seeing Naruto was still engaged with someone, Kakashi rushed towards the two to try and help. He didn't get far as three more Mist-nin jumped in his way and started using jutsu. Seeing nothing else to do, Kakashi rushed forward and engaged the three; all the while hoping that Naruto would be able to survive until he got help.

[With Naruto]

Naruto was trading strikes with the unknown samurai and getting tired out. He was good with a Katana, but this guy easily out-classed him in terms of skill and experience. As Naruto fought he unsealed his mask and fully activated his eyes to keep up; it didn't help that much since the man saw this as a sign to let loose a little more. As the two clashed swords again, it turned into a battle of strength as they pushed their blades to force the other off balance.

"You seem self-taught…and not half-bad at it either." The man said as he pushed the blade forward and kicked Naruto in the gut. Naruto regained his footing to barely have enough time to dodge the katana that was aimed at his neck for a decapitation. The man smirked at Naruto and held his blade in a casual fashion as he began to walk in a circle with Naruto. Both noticed that Kakashi was engaged with some Mist-nin, obviously blocking him from the two.

'This guy is fucking toying with me isn't he?' Naruto thought as the man continued to smirk and walk in a casual way ignoring Naruto's serious stance. Naruto tried a horizontal strike and had it countered easily. The man was simply observing Naruto now, and wanted to see what the kid could do. Naruto simply charged again and clashed swords in another struggle of power.

"Your form is good but your movements and technique are lacking something." The man spoke as Naruto looked on. He smirked when Naruto didn't show any fear in his eyes and stayed solid to his position. "I see that you can use your blade very well, but a shinobi will always be shinobi." Naruto raised an eyebrow at this that asked for further explanation." I can see with the clothes that you wear…you are a shinobi that is able to master the Katana." The samurai stated as he quickly parried his blade and knocked Naruto off his balance enough to receive another kick in the gut.

"Damn it…" Naruto said as he slid across the ground. Looking up he saw the man charging at him this time; Naruto brought up his sword to block the attack was in another bout for power. 'This is really getting old.' He thought as he tried his hardest to push the man away from him; the man smirked as Naruto showed that he was tiring out.

Pushing Naruto away, the man quickly ran and managed to get in a cut on Naruto's side. Taking advantage of that, the man kicked Naruto in the back and sent him to the floor. Naruto quickly turned over and was faced with the tip of the man's sword at his neck. Growling, Naruto stared on as the man simply squatted in front of him with his sword still where it was.

"Now I see what is missing…you're lack a purpose for both you… and your weapon." The man stated as he smirked at Naruto again.

"Who are you? And what do you mean I lack purpose?" Naruto asked.

"You may call me Heishiro Mitsurugi; 'Demon Samurai of the Murakami Clan'." Naruto's eyes widen at the name and instantly he was frightened. The man that was in front of him was a legend, someone that was feared by even shinobi. Mitsurugi simply smirked at Naruto's reaction and pushed the bladed towards Naruto's neck a little. "I see you've heard of me…it seems that even the new generation fears me." Mitsurugi lifted up his blade and backed off Naruto enough to let him grab his blade and assume a stance, except this time…he was scared. "Since you know my name…may I ask who I will be killing?" Naruto leveled a glare at Mitsurugi before he spoke up with his blade lowered a bit.

"Naruto…Naruto Uzumaki. You still didn't answer my other question; what do you mean I lack purpose?" Naruto asked again as he raised his blade up in defense. Mitsurugi smiled at the boy and got into a stance, all the while sizing Naruto's potential.

"Your blade…it yearns for blood. The blood that you enemies shed is what it wants to be bathed in…yet you deny it such things. You hold back what it wants…what it needs…what it desires."

"No." Mitsurugi raised an eyebrow at Naruto and waited for an answer from him. "My actions…my sword…they are used to cleanse the world. To protect those I hold close to me." Naruto stated as he looked on trying to steel his resolve. Mitsurugi simply frowned and ran towards Naruto with the intent to kill. Missing the initial strike Naruto entered another battle of skill as the two started clashing the swords again.

"Give up. A katana with no purpose has no use for a shinobi." Mitsurugi said as he pushed Naruto away. Quickly thinking Naruto started to channel chakra into his sword even though it wasn't meant for that. Mitsurugi sensed Naruto using chakra and started to twirl his sword in a circle-like motion. Gathering up natural energy, Mitsurugi sent it towards his sword and instantly had it set ablaze. Naruto's eyes widened a bit and saw cracks start to appear on his own sword.

"I told you, I do everything to protect those closest to me." Naruto said as he ran forward. Mitsurugi said nothing as he dashed forward as well and swung his katana down. Naruto brought up his sword to counter it. "Wind Style Weapon Dance: Sunano'o!" Naruto shouted as the two blades connected. In an instant, an explosion happened between the two and effectively pushed them away. Mitsurugi didn't look as harmed as he landed on his feet, while Naruto looked like he went through war when he was rolling to a stop on the ground. Naruto started to get up, albeit very shakily. "I told you…I will protect those I hold precious to me…because that…that is my nindo…my ninja way."

"*Chuckles* Well now, it seems you do have some tricks up your sleeve. You see that's what's wrong with all shinobi; they think that just because they hide the fact that they kill from the shadows, it makes everything all right." Mitsurugi wasted no time as he ran towards Naruto again while sheathing his katana again. As he closed the distance, Kakashi and the rest of Team 7 finished off the last of the Mist-nin. When they all saw what was happening to Naruto, they all rushed towards him. They were stopped short when an explosion of fire appeared and created a wall between them.

Naruto quickly brought up his blade to block the attack that was clearly going to happen and waited. The last attack had almost shattered his katana and it would likely break from the next impact it received. As Mitsurugi stepped within a yard of Naruto, he pulled out his sword and slashed upward. Naruto held his blade in place and saw the attack indeed shattered his sword; unfortunately he didn't move fast enough to miss the stabbing motion that Mitsurugi did after the upward slash didn't make contact.

"NARUTO!" Team 7 watched as Naruto was impaled just below his ribcage with Mitsurugi's katana. Smirking, the samurai simply placed a foot on Naruto and kicked him off his blade on watched as he fell off the cliff-side. He smiled even more when he saw that Naruto grabbed onto the edge and was hanging on with all his strength.

"You see, a shinobi had no business wielding a weapon that they can't give purpose to. This is what happens when you bring a shinobi to a swordfight. Your nindo is nothing, what you hold that motivates you to be shinobi is a lie." Naruto's arm strength began to weaken as Mitsurugi simply spoke down to him. Kakashi and the others were also listening and were getting angry at what he was saying. "You live in the shadows…never acknowledging your deeds and letting others see the results of your actions. A shinobi…is just a pathetic attempt at life; it serves no purpose to anyone."

"NARUTO DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! HE'S JUST TRYING TO GET INTO YOUR HEAD, DON'T LET HIM!" Kakashi yelled through the flames. Mitsurugi smirked at him and help up his blade in a stabbing motion.

'Is it true? Is that what a shinobi really means? Am I just pretending to fell good? Why…why _am_ I a shinobi?' Naruto thought as he saw Mitsurugi raise his blade into the air.

"It's over…" As Mitsurugi brought down his katana, three shuriken were sent flying towards him. Sensing the three projectiles, he used his sword to block and slice them in two. Mitsurugi chuckled and looked back at Naruto, who was fading from consciousness. "…you lucky little fox." Mitsurugi said as he parried a pair of kodachi. On the other end was a woman, dressed in a rather tight body suit that was red and had demonic gauntlets on parts of her body.

"Kept you waiting huh teme?" The woman asked as she pushed her blades forward. Mitsurugi chuckled and pushed back before he was surrounded by Mist-nin. The woman ran forward, but ran past them and dived over the cliff as Naruto let go and fell unconscious.

"NARUTO!" Team 7 watched as the Mist-nin and one Samurai disappeared in a large splash of water.

"My name is Heishiro Mitsurugi; remember it!" That was all Team 7 heard as the fire wall died down. Running over the edge to see if Naruto was still alive, they could see nothing. The mist from the waterfall was covering up the bottom. Sasuke was about to dive off, but Kakashi grabbed his shirt and threw him towards the road along with Hinata.

"No Sasuke! We need to get these supplies back to Mei first." Sasuke looked up in shock as what his sensei just said to him. Hinata was also looking on in equal shock and had tears forming in her eyes.

"What do mean!? What about Naruto!?"

"We can worry about him later. Now is not the time; we were just attack and many of the civilians are injured! We need to get them medical attention and get these supplies to the base before we're attacked again."

"So your saying that we should just abandon Naruto!? All for the sake of a mission!? Aren't you the one that said that those who abandon their friends are less than trash!? What does that make us Hatake!? What does that make us if we leave Naruto here without checking to see if he's alive!?" Kakashi was staring to get angry now and couldn't believe what he was bout to do.

"Look, _Genin_ as your sensei and Jōnin of this squad. I order you to follow the mission and get these supplies back to the rebel base! Any form of disobedience and I _will_ have you placed as a traitor and have your shinobi rank removed! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!?" Kakashi shouted as Sasuke looked on with his Sharingan, now with both eyes having two tomoe, and anger clearly printed on his face. With a lot of KI leaking, Sasuke turned away and walked with Hinata following closely. Sasuke stopped and glared at Kakashi.

"I hope this mission fails if Naruto is dead." Kakashi simply closed his eyes and covered up his Sharingan before he looked over the edge of the cliff again. He hated that he had to pull rank on Sasuke and Hinata to get them to move, but he had to do it. Add to the fact that his Sharingan was also activated meant that he would have to relive this now and then.

'Naruto…I pray to Kami that you're alive from this…' Kakashi though as he turned away from the setting sun that was dipping past the horizon and followed what was left of the caravan.

- Kirigakure (Mizukage Tower) -

"So you're sure that you've killed one of them?" Yagura asked as he looked up from his paper work. Standing in front of him was Mitsurugi, grinning like a man.

"I'm certain that the brat's dead. The wound alone is enough for him to die, let alone surviving the fall off the cliff." Mitsurugi replied as turned around to leave. He stopped at the door and looked over his shoulder. "When do you expect to finish this little war?"

"The final battle will take place in less than three weeks. If you would like, you may join the fight." Mitsurugi smiled at that left, not knowing that he wouldn't be joining the battle at all.

-Bottom of the cliff-side-

Naruto's body was currently resting along the bank of the river beneath the waterfall. If one would look closely around his body, they would notice faint tracks around him that seem to get things into place. If that wasn't enough to show that someone found him, then the small shelter nearby would've given it away. Naruto was currently resting his body as he thought about what Mitsurugi had said to him when he was hanging off the cliff. Hearing the sound of footsteps on the ground, Naruto pushed those thoughts away as he tried to get up into a sitting position groaning as his body was filled with pain.

Not that far away from him was the same woman that appeared near the end of his battle. She was now wearing different clothes consisting of a training shirt and loose fitting pants. Her other gear was stored away or else was on a tree drying from being in the water. Her hair was wet as she was walking back, indicating that she had taken a bath somewhere else and was just returning. Hearing Naruto groan, the woman looked up and saw that he was trying to move. Quickly walking over to him, she gently placed a hand on his chest that told him to stop and rest.

"Easy Naruto-kun; your body took quite a beating and needs to rest. Please…don't try moving." She spoke gently as she felt Naruto start to relax. Letting out a sigh of relief, she looked over the wound that Naruto had received from his fight. She could already see that it was healing, but it was slow.

"Who…" The woman snapped out of her thoughts when Naruto spoke out in a rather weak voice.

"What was that Naruto-kun?" She asked hoping Naruto would answer.

"Who…are…you…?" Naruto asked. His eyes opened up and stared at her. She just smiled at Naruto and placed a hand on his cheek.

"I'm surprised that you don't recognize me Naruto-kun. To think after all those years of teaching you my style, you would've remembered me." She replied as Naruto's eyes widened upon realization.

"T-Taki-sensei?" Naruto asked in a really weak voice. Taki didn't answer and instead did the only thing that she used to do before Naruto went to bed sometimes. She kissed him on his forehead and slowly scratched his whiskers. She giggled as Naruto purred at the feeling and promptly fell asleep.

'Rest up Naruto-kun…I want to hear what my student has accomplished in the past year and a half that I've been gone.' Taki thought as she looked up into the night sky.

A/N: Another chapter complete; what do you think? Next time: A reunion, the report and regaining determination. Also a poll of Yagura's fate is up, so please vote.

(1) The Murakami clan was a clan Mitsurugi was a part of for some time. The title was something that I just came up with.


	31. Reunion and Catching up

A/N: This chapter has Naruto meet catch up with Taki among others things. Also this story has broken 100,000 views! Thanks for reading.

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking/Connection Talk'  
"Jutsu/Technique"  
_Mindscape/Flashback_  
**"Demon/Summon Speaking"  
'Demon/Summon thinking'**

- Rebel Base (Mei's Tent-Morning) -

Mei was currently sitting in front of Team 7…well what was left of it anyway. From what she could gather with Naruto not being there, the Glares that Sasuke was giving Kakashi, and the Hyūga having tears threatening to come out…it was about the blond.

"Before we start the debriefing…where is Naruto?" Mei instantly knew that was the wrong thing to start off with. At the mention of Naruto, Sasuke started to exclude rather large amounts of KI at Kakashi and Hinata started shaking from holding in her tears. Kakashi sighed as he looked at his team; giving Mei a look that said to dismiss them, he watched as they left. Looking at the entrance of the tent, Kakashi let out another sigh before he turned to the Rebel leader.

"We believe that Naruto may have died…" Mei's eyes widened at this. Her world instantly went dead when she heard those words exit the Jonin's mouth. Sure she knew that kids' lives were being taken because of this purge; but to meet a child like Naruto and to hear that he could possibly be dead…it made the reality even harder to accept.

"H-how?" Mei asked not really wanting to hear anything, but had to. Kakashi sighed again as he formed the word in his mind before he spoke.

"The mission was going smoothly until…"

- Bottom of the cliff (Mid-day) -

Taki, with Naruto hanging limply in her arms walked off into the woods, her eyes closed, using her senses to see where she was going, her head bowed, and her body suit was still a little wet, but she didn't mind. She walked for hours, until she found a cave, the same one she was using. Good thing too, because as soon as she reached the back of the large, empty cave, her strength was spent; so reason, holding Naruto was having her waste more energy than she knew was needed.

She placed Naruto on his back and began to tend to her own things; Naruto's wound surprisingly healed over night, but she guessed that it something that he had. He stirred in his sleep and but remained motionless while she did her own things. She reached into Naruto's pouch and pulled out some gauze that she knew he would knowing have that most of the things he had were the result of Anko and herself drilling it into his head to have. She removed her armor, weapons, and suit even though she didn't wear if for long. Finishing this, Taki then wrapped the gauze around her ribs, then her shoulder.

She was resting for the past 3 weeks from her encounter with the same samurai Naruto faced earlier. Their match ended in a tie, but she suffered from a broken arm and a few fractured ribs. She was nearby when she heard the sounds of fighting and went to see what was happening; imagine her surprise when she saw Naruto facing of with the samurai. She was dressed up, but wasn't in the condition to fight. She risked her health to help Naruto and she didn't regret that decision.

After wrapping herself in gauze, she put it away. As finished up with getting a fire started, she heard Naruto shiver from getting cold. Taki knew she would have to spend her day with Naruto in case something happened to him. Taki pulled out a rather large crimson quilt and draped it over the Naruto. She watched as Naruto stopped shivering and pulled the cape tighter around himself.

'_He looks peaceful and content at least_.' Taki thought to herself. After a quick debate, Taki walked out of the cave with Naruto's clothes to a nearby river to wash them. As she approached the river, she decided it was best to was his pants first, so he won't wake up nude with just her quilt covering him. So she started scrubbing the pants. It took 5 minutes because of its color, she couldn't tell if there was blood on it or not. When she decided it was clean enough, she placed it on the side and then started on his…shirt. She couldn't call it that since it looked like a giant rag at the moment.

{Two hours later}

"Ugh, Naruto…you owe me big time." Taki groaned to herself as she walked back into the cave. She took out his clothes and laid it next to a rock by the center of the cave where she was started the fire to provide extra warmth the two of them. "I'm surprised that it's so cold here; maybe it's just how it's here in Water Country." When she looked towards Naruto, she saw that he was still asleep; Taki sighed in relief. She wasn't sure how he would react if he woke up with only a quilt to cover his body. Shrugging, Taki went over to her stuff and began to pull out things to make something to eat.

"Ugh…" Taki stopped what she was doing and looked towards Naruto, grabbing the mask that she found sealed in Naruto's headband, she put it on. She saw his eyes were slowly opening and was looking around. Walking into his view, Taki saw that he stiffened and instinctively reached for his leg despite the pain that he felt when he moved. Taki smiled behind the mask when she saw his eyes widen in realization that his clothes were gone…until she realized it herself. Naruto, for one, was confused at who was standing in front of him; he could tell that they were female, but his mask on their face put him on edge.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked as he looked up at the emotionless mask that was facing him. Taki decided to play along and see if Naruto could tell if it was her.

"I'm the one who saved you from Mitsurugi, and the one who tended to your wounds." She answered.

"What else did you do to me?" Naruto demanded. Taki blushed slightly and was thankful that she had his mask on. She walked away only to get Naruto's clothes and placed them next to him.

"I cleaned your clothes and patched the tears in it while you were resting. Now, would you kindly tell me your name?" Taki replied in a gentle, soothing, and quiet voice. Naruto was surprisingly convinced by the tone of her voice. Naruto pulled his clothes underneath the quilt and started to redress as he watched the woman in front of him. When he was done he got up and looked at his body, instead of thanking Taki, he whirled around and unsealed a blade that he kept in his sandals; Taki saw what Naruto was doing and immediately rushed to stop him.

Taki moved and grabbed Naruto, whirled him around, and forced his own blade to his neck and made him kneel so as to prevent from getting kicked. Making a clone of herself to hold Naruto, Taki walked around and stared at him and saw that his eyes were an angelic blue, filled with innocence. Naruto was quickly running through the differences between himself and his mysterious person. He was younger, that much was obvious. She was taller than he was by a considerable amount and had more skill than he did. Add to the fact that he was hurting everywhere and was really weak was another factor.

Taki stared into his eyes, looking for signs of calmness that meant he wouldn't attack. Finding it rather quickly, she had the clone slowly released him. As soon as she had gave him enough room, Naruto swept the clone off her feet and dispelled her making Taki's eyes widened. She cursed in Japanese as he removed his blade from her clone's grasp in the process. She thought furiously for a way to counter, but Naruto didn't seem to be on the offensive.

As she began to comprehend what he would do, Naruto kept his hands on his blade and held it tightly. Stepping over to the fire, he saw his gear near the entrance and went over to gather everything. As he reached into his pouch, he saw a picture that made is eyes widen. Instead of running away from the person that 'saved' him, his grip softened on the blade and looked over the photo.

The photo in question…was a picture that showed 6 people. The background was that of the Hokage Monument; where the group of people stood was the top of the Hokage's Tower. Looking over the people, Naruto's eyes started to water as he saw two kids smiling. One of them had sun-kissed hair and the other a mint-green color; both were on the shoulders of two women with a 1 year age difference. Beside them were two elderly men, one having the Hokage's robes on with his hat on the blond child.

Taki watched as she saw Naruto studying the picture. Slowly reaching up, she started to take off Naruto's mask and stare at him with her natural face. Naruto started to let some of his tears fall and tried to hold them in. Taki simply walked up to him and turned him around; she was surprised that he immediately hugged her and openly cried.

"Taki-oba-san…" Taki simple held him close. She was surprised that he treated everyone like family; he did call her 'oba-chan' on a few other occasions. "I'm so happy to see you."

"Me too, Naruto…me too." Taki simply held onto Naruto as he cried into her shoulder and listened as he told about the past year that she was gone.

{4 Hours Later}

"Get some rest Naruto; I could see the pain you were in while you moving around." Taki commanded softly. Naruto simply nodded and started to walk towards the makeshift bed he woke up in.

'_He is different from when I left. He's just like Toki before he…changed._' She thought. After she finished cooking, she noticed that Naruto was still asleep. 'Hmm, I guess our little encounter made him really tired.' Looking outside, Taki saw the sun was setting and decided that sleep would be good. She then lied down beside Naruto and instantly was hugged, there was something about her that made him feel safe and secured and she knew it.

"Thank you." That was all Taki heard Naruto say. They slowly drifted into sleep, together, huddled close to keep the cold air from stealing what little warmth they possessed.

_- Inside the Seal -_

_Inside the seal Kushina and Kurama were talking to one another about the Shinigami's actions. Having seen what Naruto was doing at the moment, which was sleeping, they decided to talk to one another._

"_I still don't see why he had to cut our connection off. We were one of the reasons Naruto's strength improved; Kami, everyone around him got stronger as well." Kushina said as she looked at the Nine-Tailed woman sitting across from her. Kurama sighed; it was something everyone was doing recently._

"_**Kushina, the Shinigami cut our connection so that we wouldn't give Naruto so much power." **__Kurama tried to explain. The response was Kushina scoffing at her causing the Tailed-Beast to roll her eyes at her._

"_But power and strength are two different things. Power can be corrupted; Strength…is just there. It's controlled by no one except the one who works for it. That's something Naruto has…strength; he has the will to keep going to protect those he truly cares about. Why can't Shinigami-sama realize that?"_

"_**I honestly don't know Kushina-chan. I wish I knew…really I do, but the deities such as the Shinigami and Kami; hell even Yami is able to control what happens to the world now and then. I wouldn't be surprised if Shinigami-sama did this just to play out a 'knight of true strength' thing. He's the second strongest out of the all and has the most influence in life and Death; both, which I might add, are the reason people want to gain said strength and power."**__ Kurama answered._

"_Still…it all seems to cliché in my book. Did it really have to happen when Naruto needed us the most? Yes, Naruto shouldn't rely on us too much, but we were put here __**for**__ him. He should be allowed to have his parents help him; at the very least be there to point out his flaws or something after a battle…and what of the Samurai? From what I've seen, he's has to be one of the __**most**__ hypocritical assholes I've ever seen; whose he to judge my son's purpose? He really shouldn't be talking about purpose when he working __**for**__ and __**with**__ shinobi in the first place." Kushina ranted out loud._

"_**The fact of the matter is this: until Naruto is able to find his 'purpose' again; we aren't allowed to speak, teach, or even hear him. Yes it's cliché but try to understand, you can't go against a deity once they do something they want to happen."**__ Kurama said. _

"_Does that mean that your healing ability won't actually help him this time?" Kushina asked confusing Kurama. Shaking her head no, Kurama explained._

"_**The healing ability that Naruto gains from my chakra isn't because I do it personally. Our chakra mended a bit and it happens to subconsciously. To summarize…it's basically like a Kekkei Genkai." **__Kurama__explained as she noticed that happened while Naruto was asleep. . She knew Kushina would've exploded like this eventually. In reality, she expected it after the Shinigami left Naruto's mindscape; it had been at least a week in said mindscape since then. Minato seemed to accept it, albeit reluctantly; but Kushina was too prideful and concerned when it came to her family. Hearing Kushina sigh, Kurama looked over towards her._

"_*sigh* Look, I know that I'm not thinking clearly here. First, I'm thinking like a mother instead of a Kunoichi; that in itself is shameful since I was considered to be colder than the Land of Snow when I was alive and yet I broke my mask a little. Second, I let my emotions get the best of me, again it's shameful. Lastly, I didn't want to accept the fact that I missed out on so much; seeing Naruto in a death-like state, made me lose hope that I broke a promise to be there for him." Kushina said as she looked at the floor. Kurama nodded at her and simply placed a hand on Kushina's shoulder._

"_**You just need to learn to let go when it's necessary. I don't know what it's like to be a mother, but I do know that letting those emotions interfere with a shinobi is likely to get them killed. When this is over, me and you are going to learn how to let go when it's called for okay?"**__ If anyone had heard Kurama speak like that, they would've thought it was a miracle. Kushina only nodded and got up to join Minato, who was asleep the entire discussion. As she laid down, Kushina said one thing as tears seeped out from her closed eyes._

"_Naruto…"_

- Real World -

Naruto thought he heard the sound of his mother calling his name. He wanted to call her back, but knew that it would be pointless. Not wanting to move from his position, he thought of things that motivated him to be a shinobi in the first place. He stopped after 5 minutes and just went back to sleep. Tomorrow would be when he figured out what being a Konoha shinobi really meant to him.

- Rebel Camp -

Mei was sitting in her chair, exhausted from what she went through today. First she was told that a child may be dead because of a mission _she_ sent him and his team on. From what Kakashi told her, she upgraded the mission to a high A-ranked mission from the basic C-rank she told them it would be. The day had been a blur for her, having heard Kakashi's report on his team's mission, she couldn't really focus on much beside wondering if Naruto was okay or not. She still remembered what she told Kakashi about the samurai.

_-Flashback: Mei's Tent-_

_Mei was looking at Kakashi when heard him say one name. The name Heishiro Mitsurugi made her freeze instantly; Mitsurugi was a famous samurai that gained the name 'Demon Samurai of the Murakami Clan'. When Kakashi wanted to know about him, Mei was hesitant to answer._

"_Kakashi…that man Naruto faced was a samurai of legend. His name was Heishiro Mitsurugi…'Demon Samurai of the Murakami Clan'." Kakashi raised his only visible eyebrow at that and wondered what made him different than any other samurai. Upon seeing Kakashi's confusion, Mei decided to elaborate on it for him. "Mitsurugi is a legend in the fact that his skills are unmatched in the ways of a samurai. From the simplest techniques to the more complex and deadly ones…he knows how to do them all."_

"_Really?" Mei nodded._

"_I'm even surprised that Naruto was able to stand up to him in a one-on-one Kenjutsu match. What made us realize how big of a threat he really was started when our reports showed that Yagura had hired another swordsman so he could rebuild the Seven Swordsman. We sent out our best at the time and that was Kisame Hoshigaki; I also went to observe Mitsurugi's skill. I was surprised when he managed to not only beat Kisame, but also cut off part of his sword the Samehada." Kakashi's eye widened when he heard that._

"_Is he really that good?"_

"_Yes. What was even more surprising was that he called Ao and me to fight against him. Ao manage to get __**one**__ hit on him, but that was only because he had something to help him. I wasn't so lucky in our fight and had to rest for three weeks from the injuries that I sustained." Kakashi looked shaken at that. "While I don't think it would be the best thing to do, I could arrange for you to go back to the fighting area and look for Naruto. Do you accept? This will be considered a B-ranked mission." Kakashi looked at her and nodded._

"_Of course…I can't really sleep know that my sensei's kid is probably dead." Mei nodded to that._

"_Very well, you have five minutes to get ready. Take as much time needed to search everywhere. Don't worry about your students, I'll assign Ao or _Chōjūrō_ to watch over and teach them while you're gone." Kakashi nodded and immediately left the tent._

_-Flashback End-_

Sure, she knew that this blood-line purge had taken more children's lives. The only reason that she was genuinely concerned about Naruto was one simple fact…she knew _who_ Naruto was. She didn't know all the children's names, whose lives were taken unfairly. She knew what it was like for Naruto…hell she was in his mind for a while and witnessed things that most kids shouldn't face through his memories.

"I hope he's doing okay…don't you?" Mei asked as she looked at the little fox resting in her lap. Getting a lazy *yip* from the fox she smiled. Thinking about, Mei got up and put the fox on the bed while she went outside. There was always someplace she could go to that was nearby to calm her nerves; that place being her personal Training Ground.

-Mei's Training Ground-

Mei was really surprised when she arrived at her training ground and saw the Hyūga practicing on the water. Mei saw that the girl's clothes were on the ground near the edge as well and wondered what she was doing.

{20 Minutes Earlier}

Hinata had left everyone behind as she made her way to the river that she had seen earlier in the day. She needed to train more even though Kakashi had said she was improving; she felt it wasn't enough. She needed to be stronger and it was time to try and continue on with the training that she had been doing in secret for awhile now. Ever Kakashi told and showed her some water jutsu moves from the chakra paper; she had been sneaking in elemental training. She had kept trying to mold water when she could. Sometimes it was after missions and training she would do this.

It was very tiring at times, since she had training with her team, these missions and then training with her clan's fighting style. After those times she was so tired but still she tried to push herself. She even had to sneak in a few soldier pills at times to get through the day, although she was careful not to overdue it. If people found out how hard she was pushing herself then they might get worried but some days she did take it easy.

But that battle on the cliff-side…she felt that she hadn't done much, and she had worried about Naruto a lot as well. She pushed those aside as she had continued her training; she couldn't focus on her feelings for Naruto. She needed to be stronger this time around and it was time to learn how to do more. She placed a hand in the water and could feel how cold it was. She quickly scanned the area with her eyes and so far there was no one near her which was good, the last thing she wanted was someone to catch what she was going to do.

She was going to have to train in water and given the cold she would get sick easily. So she sighed and started to take off her clothing and placing them neatly on a nearby rock.

{The Present}

Mei sat on the ground and watched as Hinata practiced on the water, ignorant that she was being watched. To Mei it seemed that there seemed to be someone who looked like they were dancing. The movements were so fluid and graceful. She was so amazing! Though the moonlight showed off parts of her skin, and for once Mei was glad that she was the one that saw her first. Near the end, of the routine, Mei noticed that the girl was still ignorant of her position near _her_ clothes. Taking the risk, Mei stood up and started clapping when she saw the girl finished.

Hinata instantly froze when she heard the clapping she looked over to where her clothes and was shocked to see Mei standing there. Instantly she covered herself up and lost focus…resulting in her inability to stay above the water. Letting out a quick squeak of a yell, Hinata fell into the water. Mei simply laughed as she watched the girl fall into the water. It was surprising that she would be out this late at night practicing.

As she noticed that she was swimming over, Mei pulled out a towel for her from out of no where. Mei wrapped the towel around the rather shy Hyūga and motioned for her to sit. After a while of uncomfortable silence, Hinata spoke up. She was glad that she didn't stutter at all thanks to Naruto.

"How long have you been watching me?" Hinata asked as she tightened to towel around herself. Mei noticed this and giggled a bit. She asked something that caught Hinata off-guard.

"Why do hide your talents? I sure there's was someone you could confine to." Hinata's response caught Mei off-guard this time.

"Naruto-kun…" That was all Hinata said, but that was all Mei needed to know.

"So…you love him don't you?" Mei asked as Hinata started turning red. Mei took that as a yes. "Care to explain?"

"He knows what it was like to be treated unfairly sometimes. He knew what loneliness was like…before he was taken into a family. Yet, despite it all…Naruto-kun kept going. He never stayed down, never figured out the meaning to the words 'give up'. I hide my talents because…no one has ever acknowledged me before. Naruto-kun is someone I _want_ to talk to, but I just can't." Hinata said as she stared at the water. Mei only nodded at the heiress and watched the water. She was no mother, so this was just as awkward to her as it was to Hinata.

"You know…if he is alive; I'm sure that he would return the gesture." Mei said as Hinata nodded and blushed when she realized what Mei said. Hinata remembered her past, the happy ones and the sad times. She wanted to be a constant in Naruto's life and then her mind brought him to that kiss.

It was the same accidental kiss that happened in the classroom while they were waiting for Iruka to announce the teams. His mask had been 'on' but thinking about that kiss left a feeling of butterflies in her stomach. After a while, Hinata got up and started to get dressed. After she was done, Mei got up with her and they both walked back to base; both contempt on the rather silent bonding that they did.

- Taki's Cave {Five Days Later.} -

Naruto woke up feeling like new. Having spent five days with one of his old teachers, Naruto felt like he was before the fight. Speaking of which…

"Taki-sensei…can you tell me anything about that Samurai I fought?" Taki seemed to stiffen at that, but relaxed when she thought it over. Being with Naruto, she felt that she needed to protect him…even from himself sometimes. Motioning Naruto to sit around the fire she was cooking at, Taki spilled everything she knew. Know that he would remember what she told him, Taki knew that he still respected her even after her betrayal from their pervious master…Toki.

"Heishiro Mitsurugi was once a great swordsman in his own right; born into a family of farmers, he changed when a war had taken them from him. He was like you in way and joined the Murakami clan to learn how to defend himself. I was following him for sometime now and learned these from watching him talk during battle. It was after Toki went mad and I had to flee from the Fu-ma Clan that I had heard of him. Over the year, I learned of a sword of great evil had been unleashed and that Mitsurugi was one of the few that went searching for it." Naruto didn't say anything, but absorbed what he was being told.

"Is there anything else he wants?" Taki only shrugged her shoulders.

"From what I can tell, he has only one goal in mind: To seek out the strongest warrior and challenge him or her to a duel then become the strongest warrior in history. He is never satisfied with the opponents he defeated in battle. Aside from being cocky, Mitsurugi is the kind of a person who sticks to his words; he's not all show mind you." Naruto nodded at her to continue, "Being a ronin, he fights with honor and kills his opponents in an honorable fashion, and several of his kills that I've observed revealed that he has a moral side. He believes that true strength lies within a person and not from the weapon." Naruto nodded at that and came to one conclusion.

"That means he was judging how I used my abilities, not why I was fighting…" Taki nodded at Naruto. "But that kind of clashes with the reason that he going after this evil weapon you talked about." Taki nodded again. Even she couldn't figure out why he was going after it. "Do you know anything about his fighting style?"

"Mitsurugi's fighting style is one of the easiest, fastest, and the strongest fighting styles for a samurai to use. In all our encounters he displayed incredible strength in most of his attacks. His low attacks are arguably the best in a battle and some of them can be chained in succession. His kick attacks are mediocre in strength but they are speedy too." Naruto made a note to watch for his slow attacks and attack then, "Mitsurugi can also switch stances that wait and counterattack an opponent. While in these stances, he can use several of the many counter-throws that can easily catch his opponent if not expected. His weakness however, is that some of his attacks are predictable even though they are fast and damaging."

"Do you think that I could learn something like that?" Taki thought about it for a minute before she got up and went to get a map. Naruto thought about Mitsutugi's personality: to be honorable, but have no true morals. Sure he fought with some, but those were probably the common ones used by all samurai. Taki returned and opened the map on the floor. Looking it over, she pointed to one spot on the map that resembled the Yin-Yang symbol.

"Here's were we'll go. This place is called the Divine Springs, it's never been seen by anyone-" Taki started.

"How are going to get there if it might not exist?"

"We'll get there because the one thing that everyone never had…was this map." Taki said with a gesture. "This map was made around the time the Hidden Villages were made. In fact, the Shodai Hokage entrusted it to the Fu-ma Clan to keep. The reason I have it was because Toki gave it to me before we even met you and your family. The springs were suppose to help balance a person's body and help them find what they believe in." Naruto nodded at that and looked around.

"I guess we should start to clean up then huh?" Naruto said while smiling. Taki chuckled at him and ruffled his hair.

"As soon as we clean up, we'll head out." Naruto nodded.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu." Taki only shook her head as she grabbed her gear and left to get dressed.

A/N: That's another chapter. Next time: Finding the spring, another Jinchuriki is found, the rebels find Naruto's tracks and a new sight is unlocked.

Also the polls thus far:

In both stories should Yagura be kept alive and help Naruto?

Yes: 14  
No: 2

Also I will be updating 'Uzunami Clan' next before this is updated again.


	32. Determination

A/N: This chapter has Naruto enter the springs. That's all I can say...

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking/Connection Talk'  
_Mindscape/Flashback_

- Trail to Divine Springs {2 Days Later} -

Naruto was currently in thought as he trailed behind Taki. In the past two days the two grew as close as they had been when Taki left a year earlier. It was last night that Naruto had Naruto thinking, about what it meant to have determination.

_-Flashback-_

_Naruto was sitting around the fire that Taki had set up and was busy meditating. Taki was looking over their inventory and was checking to see if they had everything that they needed before Naruto would be heading back to his team. Taki was to engrossed with what she was doing that she didn't notice that Naruto had walked over to her and was looking over her shoulder._

"_Taki-sensei-" Taki literally jumped in the air when she heard Naruto. Calming herself down Taki turned to Naruto and gave in a glare. Naruto held up his ands in defense and back away slowly. "Sorry! I thought that you were paying attention…you know, like you told me to do when I was younger." Naruto said as he sat back down. Taki only sighed and nodded at Naruto before she went back to checking things. Naruto in the meantime saw one of Taki's blades and wanted to see what it looked like._

"_Naruto…if you touch that blade I'll personally cut off that hand." Taki said without looking up. Naruto instantly retracted his hand and held it close. Looking around Naruto got up and started to do some routine styles to see if he could perfect any of them. He knew that all his forms were lacking in something, something to make them almost impenetrable. While he started up, Taki had finished checking their supplies. Looking over towards Naruto, Taki had an idea and scoffed to get Naruto's attention._

"_You know; now that I think about it, why try to become a ninja?" Taki questioned making Naruto stop. Seeing Naruto look over, Taki raised a questionable eyebrow._

"_What so you mean?" Taki rolled her eyes and sighed._

"_I mean, I think Mitsurugi is right, why did you want to become a shinobi? I don't think it was to show everyone that you're not to be messed with."_

"_Of course not! I wanted to I could protect my family!"_

"_And yet Fū is going to become a Kunoichi in a year." Taki stated. "How can you protect her if she is out on a mission?" Taki inwardly was growing worried about Naruto's stability;, if he was anger by what she just said, then it would be really hard from him at the spring. Her fears were confirmed when she heard Naruto let out a growl._

"_Are you saying that I'm not strong enough to help them?" Naruto questioned. Taki simply got up and walked away. "Look at me Taki!" Seeing her stop, Naruto started to walk towards her, but was forced to jump away when she slashed at him. Seeing her blades in her hands, Naruto grabbed his and pulled them out before he charged. Taki easily countered and kicked Naruto to the floor; Naruto let out another growl and went on the attack again, determined to at least get a strike on Taki. Taki just dodged all of them, casually speaking to him._

"_You lack any real power Naruto. Is this all you can do in the past year I was gone?" Taki asked. Though she looked impassive at him, on the inside she was hurting because of what she was doing._

'_Naruto will have a tough time at the springs if he acts like this.' Taki thought as she dodged another strike from Naruto. She could see that Naruto was determined to at least hit her. Seeing that it was not going anywhere, Taki grabbed Naruto's wrist and pinned him to the floor._

"_That's enough Naruto!" Taki shouted. Naruto stopped and looked at her. "Naruto you need to know how to control you emotions; you were quickly angered from what I said. Furthermore, you attacked without getting all the details. I was testing you to see your stability. The Divine Springs are used to heal and balance that stability, what you hate to happen is what is used against you. I saw that you were determined to get at least one strike on me, but you couldn't. You need to remember: determination does not equal strength. Strength is the balance of everything and determination is one of them." Naruto quickly nodded and Taki got off of him._

"_That was all a test?" Taki nodded and went over to the fire before she laid down and went to sleep._

_-Flashback End-_

Since then Naruto had been thinking about what she said. While Naruto was thinking, he didn't see Taki stop, resulting in having him walk into her. Looking up, Naruto saw a dense forest in front of him.

"This is it Naruto, this is the Divine Spring. Get ready, we'll go in there tomorrow." Naruto nodded.

- Cliffside [With Kakashi] -

While Naruto and Taki were at the entrance to the springs, Kakashi was at the sight of the battle they had. While he could've went straight there, he decide that it would be better to see how long they've be followed before the attack. With that in mind Kakashi went to the town again and followed the path that they took. I was a lot faster, but still took the same amount of time considering that he was looking for track along the sides of the road and trails that they took. Kakashi even summoned his dogs to help.

"You sure that was where the tracks were?" Kakashi asked as his dogs circled around him again. The smallest, a pug named Pakkun, nodded at Kakashi before he spoke.

"Yep it seemed that they already knew the route and set up along the road further up." Kakashi nodded at that and had the rest of the dogs dispel, leaving Pakkun with him. "There's something else isn't there?" Pakkun asked as Kakashi looked over the cliff before he walked over to the scorch marks that were in the ground. Looking them over, Kakashi noticed that they were created from a nearby bush.

"Yes, on the day of the attack, Naruto fell off the ridge after he was stabbed." Pakkun widened his eyes and looked on. "While we were dealing with the immediate threat, Naruto managed to get into a samurai dual. As the fight neared an ending, we went to help him, but a wall of fire blocked our path. Soon after, a woman appeared and engaged the Samurai, they seemed to have met before. In the end the samurai stabbed Naruto and kicked him off the cliff, the woman dived after him." Kakashi explained as he looked over the edge. Moving away, Kakashi noticed that apart of the cliff looked like it was cut in.

"Pakkun, look over the edge and tell me what you see." Kakashi said. Pakkun looked at Kakashi with a glare. "I promise I won't kick you off like last time." Pakkun glared at Kakashi for another minute before he looked over the edge.

"It looks like the part of the cliff was cut in; something stabbed the side a slid down." Kakashi nodded and looked over. "You think Naruto is down there?"

"Only way to find out." Kakashi said as he tapped Pakkun and made him fall off the cliff, followed by himself via 'Wall Walking Technique'.

- Entrance to Divine Springs -

Taki and Naruto were currently standing in front of the entrance with another person guarding their way in. It was a boy that wore a long, light blue kimono adorned with a small emblem of three bubbles on the back, and a pair of grey pants underneath, with an orange sash. The kimono hung loose, exposing his chest. Within it, he pulled out a bamboo jug and a pipe. They didn't know his intentions, but both knew that he was blocking the way.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked as he eased into a fighting style. The boy looked about 3 years older than Naruto, but by the looks of it he was more experienced. Naruto grew cautious as did Taki when the boy lifted the pipe to his mouth and blew into it. Both were surprised to see a bubble come from the end and start to enlarge. Naruto jumped out of the way as a dozen bubbles flew their way. Both he and Taki were even more surprised that the bubbles, sent their way, exploded sending them off-course.

"What was that?!" Naruto shouted as he landed. Taki pulled out a book and started to flip through the pages; Naruto continued to run for his life before Taki found what she was looking for.

"Utakata, Missing-nin of Kirigakure. Wanted for defection of shinobi forces of Kirigakure; wanted alive." This seemed to make the boy madder and increase his attacks. As Taki looked through, she saw something that caught her attention.

**Name: Utakata**

**Reward: 5,000,000 ****Ryō**

**Rank: ****Jōnin (Missing-nin)**

**Gender: Male**

**Date of Birth: Unknown**

**Age: 15**

**Height: 5'5"**

**Weight: 156 lbs.**

**Hair Color: Brown**

**Eye Color: Pale Gold**

**Affiliation: None**

**Personal Note: **_**Jinchūriki**_**_ of the Rokubi no _**_**Kyōda**_**. Once known to be a student of Harusame before his death. Angered with those in a master-student relationship and tends to attack more aggressively.**

**Note of Engagement: Known to use Soap Bubble Ninjutsu. Can create bubbles that are used for many attacks; Taijutsu still that of a ****Jōnin while Genjutsu is unkown. Seen to utilize Ninjutsu more than other forms of attack; wanted alive.**

Taki stopped in her attacks and looked at Naruto before he stopped as well confusing the person they were fighting. Both eased up from their stances and looked at him casually.

"If you think that we're going to harm another Jinchūriki, then you mistaken." the boy, now named Utakata, seemed to stop all of his attempts of attacking and looked at the two. After studying them for 5 minutes, he nodded and relaxed. "Look, we're just resting before we continue forward." Utakata looked behind him as Taki pointed past him.

"You wish to go the Divine Springs?" Taki and Naruto nodded. "It is a foolish thing to do." Naruto growled at him, but Taki grabbed his shoulder calming him down. "I've went there to seek peace and was thrown out. I was denied access, but I was given this before I taken out." Utakata said as he pulled out a scroll and unsealed a katana from it. Unsheathing it, Naruto and Taki marveled at it. "The last thing that I heard was them saying 'Only those of the whirlpool shall enter.' and that I 'Must seek out the maelstrom of the whirlpool.'."

The blade itself was pure Red, the handle was black and had a red string wrapped around it. It was nothing fancy about it, but it radiated power from it; to Naruto it was familiar. Taki tried to reach for the blade but instantly pulled her hand back when it caught fire in Utakata's hand. Naruto decided to take, and surprisingly it didn't do anything to him.

"What is this?" Utakata asked as Naruto gave an experimental swing. "The people who carried me away said it was made of pure Demonic Chakra. Those that are tainted enough or house a form of taint are able to hold it. I heard that it was made for those who can counter the name of this sword. Look here," Utakata pointed to the sheath. Naruto looked closely and saw the word 'Oniyukiyasu' written on it.

"Demon…Snow…Safety?" Naruto asked as Utakata nodded.

"It seems that this blade it meant for those that can balance these three things. It was made for you Naruto; you, a human, are a jailer for a demon, can use fire to heat yourself from the snow, and are reckless sometimes." Naruto pouted, but nodded when he realized that Taki was right. Utakata looked at them and gave the sheath to Naruto.

"It seems that you were meant to head here eventually. I recommend that you clear you mind." Naruto nodded as Taki pushed him towards the forest.

"I know that I said to wait for tomorrow, but it would probably be best that you get this over with." Naruto looked at Utakata who also nodded at him.

"Do not worry, the path will lead you to the spring. When you are done, I have a hut over there just follow the marking on the trees." Naruto looked in the general direction, where Utakata was pointing and nodded. With that, Naruto walked into the forest as Utakata led Taki to where he was staying.

-Taki's Cave-

Kakashi were currently looking around a cave that Pakkun led them to. From the scent and the amount of track that were around and in the cave, they could tell that it was used not to long ago.

"Pakkun, can you tell if Naruto was here?" Kakashi asked as he looked around the cave for something that showed where they went. Pakkun sniffed the air.

"Unless you know of anyone else that smells of foxes and ramen then yea, Naruto was here."

"Can you tell what direction he went to?" Pakkun sniffed the air.

"Not really, there's something in the air that's covering his scent. It's too weak to track." Pakkun said as he looked around. "I'm guessing that whoever dived after Naruto is the same person that covered his tracks."

"Why would someone do that?"

"No clue…if that's all Kakashi…" Kakashi nodded as Pakkun dispelled. Looking around, Kakashi saw something was in the bushes. Walking over, Kakashi saw that it was dried up blood.

'I'm guessing that this is either Naruto's or the person he's with.' Kakashi thought as he took the leaves that had the blood on them and sealed them away. 'I guess it's time for me to go back to the others. It shouldn't take to long, it was nearby when we left.'

- Rebel Camp -

Mei was currently watching over Sasuke and Hinata as they trained. Both actually took the news of Kakashi leaving to look for Naruto pretty well; Sasuke 'hn'ed' and Hinata simply nodded before they went back to training. It wasn't as bad as Mei though when she was watching over them.

'Maybe I should send some teams over to Konoha and partake in the Chūnin Exams…' Mei thought as she watched the two Genin spar. She didn't watch long before she went back to her tent and started on the paperwork.

Just as she sat down, Kakashi burst through the tent flaps and held up a scroll from Mei to see. After a while Mei, looked at Kakashi.

"Okay…I'll bite, what is it?" Kakashi sweat-dropped and sighed.

"I sealed some leaves that had blood on them. I was wondering if you have anyone who can check to see if it was Naruto's." Mei stopped and looked at Kakashi.

"AO! Get in here now!" In a second, Ao was walking through the entrance of the tent.

"Yes Mei-sama?" Mei waved her hand towards Kakashi.

"Ao take this to Takenshi and have her see whose blood is on the leaves." Ao looked at Kakashi, who handed him the scroll.

"It's leaves that have dried blood on them. We believe them to be Naruto's." Ao nodded and left. After he was gone, Kakashi slumped into a chair. "How long until we invade Kiri?" Mei looked from her paperwork.

"In ten days. Hopefully we'll have Naruto with us by then." Kakashi nodded.

- Divine Springs -

As Naruto walked on, he kept hearing a voice that told him to wait for a presence. Naruto ignored it and soon came across the spring…or lake from where he was standing.

'Naruto!' Naruto looked around when he heard, what sounded like Kushina call his name. Taking a risk Naruto stepped onto the water and walked towards the center.

_-Mindscape-_

_Kushina and Minato were sitting around on the floor when all of the sudden, the floor turned clear and the area turned into a forest like area. Looking around, Kushina realized where they were and stood up. Minato saw the urgency in Kushina's movements and followed, shortly after Kurama joined them. Looking towards a clearing, all three of them gasped when they saw Naruto walk through the trees and stood at the water's edge._

"_Naruto!" Kushina yelled as she ran towards Naruto. As she closed the distance, Naruto continued to look around and started to walk on the water towards them. When Kushina was in front of Naruto, she was tried to wrap him in a hug…only for Naruto to phase right through her._

"_What!?" Minato looked on shocked as Naruto phased right through Kushina and eventually him and Kurama. Watching his son, Minato saw that he stopped in the center of the spring. Kushina walked up to them and started to look around. All three of them watched as people began to emerge from the trees and go towards Naruto; Kushina looked on in horror as she saw them as civilians from Konoha…but they were holding makeshift weapons._

"_Look out Naruto!" Minato yelled only for Naruto to ignore what he said. They were about to run over and save him, when all of a sudden the people disappeared as they raised their weapons. Looking on, the three watched what would happen next._

_-Real World-_

Naruto stood on the water and waited for something to happen like he was told. Where Naruto was, he could feel someone watching him but did not let on that he knew. They did not feel like a threat but more like they were curious. As if they wanted to see what he would do. A few moments later the figure that was watching Naruto dashed forward at great speed with a sword in their hand and swung towards Naruto.

Naruto feeling them suddenly appear behind him, turned around as quick as he could and block the strike with Oniyukiyasu. Turning around he was surprised to see a rather tall and buff old man standing there in front of him examining Naruto.

"Uh…" Naruto said in surprise as he quickly sheathed his sword and gave the man a bow. "My apologies for engaging you sir." Naruto said but quickly saw that the man was waving it off.

"I engaged you young Uzumaki-Namikaze. It is I who should apologize. I wanted to see how well you acted with a blade since I saw you carrying it. I must admit your reaction time with it is quite impressive for you age."

"You…know my name?" Naruto asked a little taken back that the old man knew him.

"Of course, I can see Kushina within you." The old-man replied shocking Naruto even more. In the seal, Kushina and Kurama gasped as they saw the old-man. "She came here at one point in her life, like all Uzumaki had done before you and her. I guard these springs for only the Uzumaki to use, imagine my surprise when I see the son of my last student." Here let's see what you need to work on. Naruto nodded as he went forward and slashed at the man only for him to block it and sweep Naruto off his feet.

"Wow…" The old-man held up a hand for Naruto to take.

"By your foot work and the way you hold the blade, you do not have a definitive style for it, yes?" He asked as Naruto shook his head. "Does your mother Kushina Uzumaki not teach you? She is an expert in Kenjutsu last I checked." He found it odd that a boy with a mother as well versed with a blade as Kushina was, did not have a sword style already. The old man watched as Naruto shifted a little as well as saw this small look of sadness cross his face. "Kaa-chan is dead. She wasn't able teach me along with Tou-chan." He said looking away.

"I see." The old man said before his face softened a bit.

"May I?" he asked wanting to take a look at Naruto's blade. Naruto was a little hesitant since this sword was not his, but allowed it. The old man took it and immediately noticed that it was heavier than other blades. He also noticed how different looking it was since the metal was red but he admired it's unique beauty.

"This is a strong blade. A blade meant for a lot of power and physical strength. To be able to hold a blade that is as heavy as it is at your age is impressive. Though you would need a style to fit this along with the chakra of the Kyūbi that I sense is sealed in you." He said as Naruto nodded not showing his shock.

"Uh…"

"Come." The old man said as he gave Naruto the sword back and summoned a training circle in the water. They stood in the circle and the old man drew his blade out of it's sheathe again as Naruto did the same. "Come at me with the intent to kill Uzumaki. Otherwise don't attack at all." Naruto bit his lip a little but nodded. Taking a deep breath, he gripped the handle of the blade in a tight grip though not too tight and went forward towards the old man. Naruto swung at the old man who easily blocked the strike with his blade and first acted on the defensive, letting Naruto get a few strikes in. Every strike Naruto sent towards him, the experienced elder blocked it each time and blocked it with little difficulty.

'Damn he's good.' Naruto thought as another one of his attacks was blocked

"You must try much harder than that." The old man said to Naruto as he spun, catching Naruto off balance and knocked Naruto in the chest with the back on his sword and making him stumble back. Shaking his head Naruto went forward again, this time striking at a fast speed and trying to catch the not so old man of guard. Though once again it was blocked with ease and dodged. Naruto swung a little higher than before and brought it down at a greater speed and with a bit more power behind it. The two locked blades with making a loud clang sound out through the spring.

'He's really good.' Naruto thought as he tried to push back but the man's strength was greater managed to push Naruto back before pushing him off a little bit and like earlier knocked Naruto back with the back of his sword. Naruto breathed in and out a little heavily, getting a little frustrated that he could not land a single strike on stranger before him. He charged forward for a third time but this time the two locked swords again, the man spun Naruto's sword around in his hand before disarming Naruto with a swift chop to the back of his hand, making him drop the sword.

'_No!'_ Naruto thought as he watched the man swing his sword towards him, obviously putting Naruto on the post and wanting him to think of his own way to get his sword back. As the strike was about to hit him, Naruto took a leap of faith. '_Please let this work_.' He thought as he waited for the strike to hit before he felt the air shift a little. Raising his hands up, he threw his hands in front of him and caught the blade in his palms. The man, for one was a little taken back by the sudden move. The strike may not have been very strong since he was holding back a lot but still to catch the blade in two palms like that had impressed him.

'_Not bad.'_ He thought as he slid the blade out of Naruto's palms. He swung again towards Naruto but this time Naruto put his stature to his use as he ducked, and rolled towards his blade. Picking the sword up, he brought it up and deflected another strike.

"Not bad. Now you are thinking like a swordsman; however, you should never drop your sword in battle as your opponent may use it against you." The man said and leading to example, pushed Naruto away again but this time knocking his sword out of his just enough to make it fly in the air. Naruto watched as the man reached and grabbed it before holding the two blades against Naruto neck in a scissor like form. Naruto was a little awestruck at how quickly that just happened, reaffirming how weak he was. The old man examined the boy.

'_He has talent that's for sure. If he works hard enough and find the right style then he will be a force to be reckoned with_.' The old man gave the sword back to Naruto who accepted it before taking a few steps back; he sheathed his sword, but kept his hand on the handle.

"You may call me Edge Master. Now…come at me again. After this, we'll see what else your eye needs help with." He said making Naruto look at him for a few seconds before smiling internally and charging forward as the two sparred for the next few hours, Edge Master fully believing that Naruto was going to be a force to be reckoned with as he got older.

-Utakata's Hut-

Currently, Taki and Utakata were sitting around a fire in front of Utakata's hut. Taki was drinking tea while Utakata was making bubbles. It wasn't until Taki noticed something that wrong with Utakata while he was making bubbles.

"Can I ask what's up? You look depressed." Utakata looked up and looked down. To Taki that was all she need to see to depict what Utakata was like; he was someone that someone that was scarred from their past, making them stoic, calm, and in some cases carefree. Utakata noticed Taki observing him, so he decided a little information would get her to stop.

"I prefer solitude and keeping to myself." Taki snapped out of it and looked away muttering an apology.

"I saw in the Bingo Book that you hate Master-Student Relationships." Taki stated making Utakata snap his head towards her. "I'm guessing that it's because of you previous master." Utakata nodded at that and stared at the fire.

"*Sigh* I trusted him. He taught me so much when I was still a shinobi for Kiri. He showed me my mistakes, pointed a flaw in my movement and helped me master what I lacked."

"What happened?" Utakata shook his head and sighed again.

"I…don't remember everything…just flashes." Utakata said as he looked up. Taki simply raised an eyebrow. "From those flashes…I saw that I was tied to a pedestal. Harusame-sensei saw there with ANBU from Kiri; From what I gathered, he wanted to release the Rokubi for his own gain." Taki nodded at that.

"I see…same with my master. He gave me a powerful blade, but he eventually went mad and had me hunted down for the same weapon. He taught me for the longest time, had me master the skills I had and gained new ones. When he betrayed me…he made me realize the there was no hope to heal him." Taki explained. Utakata only nodded and looked at the fire; the two simply stayed there in contempt.

- Divine Springs [Three Days Later] -

Naruto was currently kneeling on the water; in front of him were multiple people all of them looking winded if not in the same condition as Naruto was. In the past three days, Naruto found out that the spring had the ability to slow time and have them train in short periods of time. While it seemed like he trained for at least a month, he trained for only three days; he also found out that the spring was a way to connect with his mindscape. Looking over his opposition, Naruto smiled at the people who help him train his styles; they also helped him unlock his Earth site.

_- Flashback [Yesterday—real-time] -_

_Naruto was currently dodging the strikes from a girl and a boy that looked around the age of 16 and 17 respectively. The boy was named Kilik, someone who specialized with the usage of the Bo Staff; the girl was name Xianghua, and specialized with a Jian. Both were informed of Naruto's battle by Edge Master and took it upon themselves to have Naruto learn what determination really meant. This included them insulting him and taking advantage of any openings._

"_Come on Naruto, You need to improve if you want to match up to both of us." Kilik Taunted as he managed to jab his staff into Naruto gut. Naruto fell to his knees but manage to stay above the water; all the while gritting out words through his teeth._

"_Shut up." The two teen's responses were to look at each other and go on the attack. This time, Xianghua decided to try and manage to land a kick on Naruto's side._

"_Oh Naruto, if only you could push yourself like we do." Xianghua taunted as she landed next to Kilik. Both felt really shitty that they were doing this; they expected Naruto to either accept their taunts or break through it quicker. They were not expecting Naruto to resist it._

"_I said shut up" Kilik and Xianghua both shared a look and nodded before they charged forward. Naruto saw the two of them charge and attempted to block; only to see them circle around and land a kick on his back. Naruto only looked up as Kilik and Xianghua spoke at the same time._

"_You have no strength to match, let alone beat us. Your reasons to protect those precious to you…is only an illusion for you to blindly follow." Upon hearing that, Naruto stood up._

"_No…I follow what I believe. I determine what happens in my life, I…will…not…lose." Naruto immediately looked up. Kilik and Xianghua smiled at seeing the tint of brown and the reshape of Naruto's iris as he looked at him. "I never go back on my word…I will protect those that are precious to me…that's my Nindo, my ninja way!" Naruto yelled as he charged forward. Kilik instantly brought up his staff and tried to hit Naruto…only to have Naruto flawlessly duck and counter it._

"_What!?" Xianghua watched as Naruto ducked under the attack. Naruto quickly grabbed the middle of Kilik's staff while placing a palm on said person's chest, knocking them away. Xianghua then ran forward and tried to slash at Naruto multiple times, only for Naruto to bring out Oniyukiyasu and block the strike. Naruto smirked as he started his own attacks and watched for an opening; Xianghua looked scared as she tried to find an opening in Naruto's barrage and saw that he blocked them perfectly._

"_You're finished!" Xianghua's eyes widened when Naruto clashed blades with her before he manage to fling hers out of her hand. Taking the opportunity, Naruto landed a kick on Xianghua's stomach. Naruto smiled as he looked at the two on the water and saw that he finally won._

"_Congrats Naruto…you've unlocked your Earth Sight. Also…you're welcome." Kilik said as he got up. Naruto nodded and looked at the water's surface._

_-Flashback End-_

"Congratulations Naruto…now it's time you face the one who put here." Edge Master said as all the people walked back to the tree. Naruto nodded and focused before he opened his eyes and came face-to-face with the Shinigami.

"Hey asshole, I think you and me need to talk."

A/N: Done. Next time: Facing the Shinigami, reconnecting with parents, rejoining the rebellion and preparations. I know that this chapter probably sucks, but I am tired from moving to a new house. Up next...updating the other story.

Also the Poll thus far: In both stories, should Yagura live and help Naruto?

Yes: 18

No: 2


	33. Reconnection

A/N: This chapter has Naruto confronts the Shinigami, rejoins the Rebellion and prepares with a three unlikely new teachers.

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking/Connection Talk'  
"Jutsu/Technique"  
_Mindscape/Flashback  
_**"Demon/Summon Speaking"  
'Demon/Summon thinking'**

-Divine Spring-

Naruto stared in front of him, as the Shinigami didn't move an inch. Behind them were Kushina, Minato, and Kurama; all of which feared the Shinigami for Naruto at the moment.

**"Is there a reason you call me here…boy?"** The Shinigami asked as he looked at Naruto. Naruto nodded at that and took a step back.

"Yeah there is. I want my connection to my parents and Kurama back." Naruto stated. The Shinigami kept his stare at Naruto before he floated around the lake. (A/N: This isn't totally in Naruto's mindscape, just part of it. Meaning he can't see his parents but they could see him.)

**"…and pray tell, why would I take demands from a mere mortal?"** Naruto smirked.

'Right into my hands.' Naruto thought as he kept a calm face.

"I heard that you and your siblings…Kami and Yami can't help but accept a challenge that's issued to you." Naruto said. This in turn caused Kushina's eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates. Minato saw Kushina's reaction and looked at her.

"_Kushina-chan what's wrong?"_ Kurama decided to fill in for her.

"_Naruto is challenging the Shinigami is what's wrong! The Shinigami can't deny it, and has to give the challenger whatever they want if they live but…"_

"_But?"_ Minato asked, not really wanting to know.

"…_but if the challenger loses, then their live are considered forfeit."_ Kushina finished and enabled Minato's looked to mirror hers. With that in their minds, they watched what happened as the Shinigami looked at Naruto and looked him over.

**"Hmm…you're right about that. What do you have in mind for a reward?"** Naruto smirked again.

"I want a few things…"

**"Name them, my patience is growing thin."** The Shinigami said.

"First, I want my connection with my parent's and Kurama fixed. Second, I want someone to help me master my sub-elemental abilities along with my eyes and my affinities. Third, I want two more skills from you like the revival jutsu. Fourth, I want my parent's souls to be nearly complete to shorten my debt to get them back, and Finally, I want the ability to summon you without the use of a sacrifice to do so." Naruto listed off. To anyone else it would be more like impossible demands, but the Shinigami…

"**Very well, **_**If**_** you manage to beat me…then I shall fulfill your requests."** The Shinigami replied. Taking a few steps back, Naruto bowed and got into a simple stance while unsealing his blade. The Shinigami looked on interested as he saw the blade. **"Interesting, I see that you have the possession of Oniyukiyasu."** Naruto nodded at that. **"Very well, our match will be one to the death. To make it fair, you can decide how that is done."** Naruto thought about it before he answered.

"Only the opposition may deliver the final blow. If not then, the other side will win by default." The Shinigami nodded at that before he showed six arms holding ceremonial blades in them. Naruto countered by summoning 5 shadow clones, each with a different sight. What surprised everyone was the fact that they walked away and stood on different parts on the edge of the spring. Kurama immediately thought of something and slipped away from the other two to try something. Facing the Shinigami, Naruto was a little reluctant. The fear of not being able to beat the death god overwhelmed him, thus breaking his concentration. So, Naruto was doing all he could to dodge the man's furious attacks.

**"What's the matter kid? I thought you came here to beat me"** Shouted the Shinigami as he delivered a solid punch directly at Naruto's chest, thus sending him straight to the tree. Using the momentum, Naruto flipped his body and landed with his two feet on the tree. While Naruto was analyzing the man's fighting. Someone was screaming inside of him.

**"Naruto, you can't keep defending all the time. Look at you. You're afraid of the opponent in front of you. Why?"** Kurama asked to which Naruto snarled…and quickly realized his connection was coming back.

_'__I never faced anyone above Jōnin-level shinobi alone Kurama, I don't know if I can win this fight!' Naruto_thought before he heard the fox scream even louder inside his head.

"**Damn it Naruto. You've faced a samurai that matched this guy's skill and still lived. Also how dare you say you're facing this man alone! You still have those shadow clones and now me to help."** Kurama said, earning a surprised look by Naruto. **"Do you think I would give you the pleasure of leaving you alone?"**Kurama shouted. Naruto, after hearing this from the vixen, smiled a bit and cursed his lack of memory. The Vixen was right, she wouldn't leave. When Naruto opened his eyes and saw the Shinigami approaching, Naruto smiled and did some hand seals.

"Wind Style: Furious Wind Jutsu." Instantly, Naruto was revolved with a powerful wind force, thus protecting him of the Shinigami's attack as well as sending him flying. Naruto quickly switched his sight to the fire sight and watched the Shinigami's movements. When he did, Kushina and Minato noticed that every time Naruto switched a sight, it would replace on of the clone's sights.

'_I see he's using the clones not to fight…but to let him see the battle field from different directions. This also allows the others to watch each other's backs along with giving Naruto an overview of the opponent.'_ Minato thought as he saw the clones watch the battle field. _'Add in the fact that he just needs to switch a sight and continue his fight, Naruto you make me proud to be your Tou-chan'_

Naruto started to make another set of hand seals

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu." The Shinigami for his part was impressed with Naruto's reaction and strength, he almost felt that last jutsu used…almost. The wind jutsu had enough force to send him flying. When he saw the fireball approaching, the man began to curse his distractions and flipped his body, in order to face the incoming fireball. Doing some hand seals the Shinigami looked at the fireball.

**"Water Style: Water Barrier Jutsu."** A wall of water covered the Shinigami thus stopping the incoming fireball. The Shinigami looked at Naruto and realized that that he underestimated his opponent. In the beginning, Naruto was being overwhelmed by his attacks. Out of nowhere, the boy began to fight better and even managed to use a sequence of pretty tough Ninjutsu sequence.

_'__**Huh, perhaps there is more to this boy than I thought. Great, I could use a challenge…even if I'm going easy.'**_The Death God thought as he dropped into his Kenjutsu stance and attacked Naruto once more. However, the result of it was quite different since Naruto was attacking as well. During the assault, the Shinigami was actually having difficulty dodging the sword's slashes and landing a hit at the blond. It was as if the boy transformed somehow. **'I must be getting rusty from not fighting in a long time.'** Eventually, Naruto managed to land an attack, making a long diagonal cut beginning from the entity's left shoulder, going all the way to his stomach.

"**Naruto be careful the Shinigami may be taking it easy on you and will most likely perform some A-ranked techniques he knows."** True to the Vixen's worries, the Shinigami began with the hand seals sequence and sent a water dragon towards Naruto. The blond barely managed to avoid the dragon until he saw the Shinigami making another sequence of hand seals.

**"Water Release: Large Projectile Jutsu."** Once again trusting his reflexes, Naruto managed to dodge the water blast. "Impressive reflexes…it seems Edge Master and his accomplices trained you well." The Shinigami said before once again made hand seals. **"Water Release: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu."** This time the water hit Naruto dead on, the Shinigami smirked until he saw that instead of Naruto's body a tree log appeared, thus getting the hit. The Shinigami began a long series of hand signs and shouted, **"****Water Release: Water Collision Destruction Jutsu."** What Naruto saw nearly astounded him.

The size of the wave was enough to envelop Kurama's cage. Finding no way of escaping the tidal wave, Naruto decided to charge straight through the wave**.** At first, the Shinigami frowned upon thinking that Naruto, foolishly, charged against an A-ranked Ninjutsu. However, when he saw the blond land on the ground, coughing a little bit because of a little bit of water being swallowed, the god became impressed that Naruto managed to make it through. Not even leaving the Shinigami time to do anything, Naruto enveloped his sword with Fire Style chakra also mixing Kurama's chakra as well awakening the swords.

"Fire Style: Flame Sword Jutsu." Naruto charged forward and performed a swift cut at the Shinigami's neck, thus decapitating him. Naruto noticed that the Shinigami tried blocking, but the blade went through whatever attempt to block he made. "I didn't intend for the attack to do that…maybe it's something else."

'Hopefully, Shinigami-sama is alright.' Naruto thought as the technique's fire ended up burning the body. Upon looking at his opponent burning on the floor, Naruto was picturing every move made by both him and the Shinigami. The battle began one sided with the Shinigami beating Naruto to the ground. When he gathered confidence in himself, Naruto began landing some attacks of his own until he managed to make the deep cut, thus hurting his opponent a lot. In the end, Naruto remembered him charging against the wave and wondered what possessed him to do that. Truth be told, Naruto had never tried to do something like that and he surely didn't know what to expect. It was pure luck that the jutsu managed to open up like a hole and pass Naruto through, thus, escaping the technique.

"**I have to hand it to you boy, that fight was one of the more fun ones I've ever had."** The Shinigami said as it reappeared behind Naruto. **"…but in order for me to complete this deal, I'll need to take your soul. This is destiny kid, you were meant to do great things, but I guess that was for someone else."** Naruto simply glared at the Shinigami and flipped him off.

"I'll decide my destiny. So if you think that pale, ghostly, stupid Oni mask wearing face of yours can tell me otherwise then I dare you to try it!" Naruto said raring to go for another fight. The Shinigami and Kurama both found some respect for Naruto. No one had ever threatened the Shinigami…this much before so this was interesting. The Shinigami looked at the blonde and then he drew his sword back.

**"You really have a mouth you know. I've got little to no tolerance for you humans and your stupidity, but you're by far the most interesting. No one has talked to me like that before, not even Mito-chan"** The Shinigami said and Naruto took out a kunai from his back pouch.

**"Please Shinigami-sama, I doubt he respects anyone,"** Kurama said and Shinigami had to agree with her even if the death god didn't voice his agreement. Naruto pouted at Kurama's insult and huffed.

"I respect a lot of people," Naruto mumbled making Kurama roll her eyes while the Shinigami raised his eye-brows. "I respect Hokage-Ojii-san, Tou-chan, Kaa-chan, Anko-Kaa-san, Kakashi-sensei and others!" Naruto said with a sense of pride though in his head he knew he was insane. This was the freaking Shinigami. He was lucky it didn't kill him already and now he had the nerve to threaten the god earlier. Either he was incredibly brave or ridiculously stupid; maybe it was both Naruto wasn't sure.

**"All you humans are so stupid I'll admit that, but you're probably the most interesting besides the rest of your family. Alright then, as to our agreement I'll grant your requests. It'll be worth it to see what you can do; wait here for little while I get started"** The Shinigami said as he used his sword and struck Naruto in the heart. The blond gasped at the hit while Kurama narrowed her eyes at the sight. A small light glowed on Naruto's right hand and before long it settled down as the Shinigami slowly placed Naruto on the ground.

**"What did you do to him Shinigami-sama?"** Kurama asked and the Shinigami turned to her while putting his sword away.

**"I'm going to keep an eye on him, maybe more than that. Like he wanted, I've entered a sort-of summoning contract with him."** The Shinigami said and Kurama widened her eyes while her tails thrashed the caged.

**"B-but no one's been in a full contract with you! The only other contract was that life-wasting jutsu Minato used and even then only a select few people knew that!"** Kurama said and the Shinigami simply shrugged.

**"I didn't say it was a full Contract. In any case, I want to see how far this brat can handle if he's in a contract with me; he did want to contact me without the use of a sacrifice."** The Shinigami said then immediately disappeared. Kurama raised an eyebrow then looked at her container.

**"*Sigh*…and people say I have a knack for causing trouble. Naruto…you are a trouble magnet,"** Kurama said with a small chuckle before disappearing into the seal to go get Kushina and Minato.

{30 Minutes Later}

Naruto woke to the feeling of something soft under his head. It took him a few moments, but he eventually woke enough to start hearing what was going on around him. The only thing he noticed was that there were three additional voices to his parents and Kurama.

"…_still amazing…actually able to go against Shinigami-sama!"_

"…_really challenge him Kushina…?"_

"…_boy if one of a kind…proud of him…as my son…"_

"…_seems like this…power of the Uzumaki…at its finest…"_

"…_best jailer yet…"_

"…_carries the Will of Fire…I did as Shodai…"_

"Ugh…" All the voices immediately hushed as Naruto officially started to come to. Upon opening his eyes he came face-to-face with a woman that had the exact same hair-color as Kushina…but had them in two buns and had three hairclips instead of one. "…Kaa-chan?" Naruto asked as the woman tilted her head to the right a bit.

"_No child…I'm an not your mother. My name is Mito…Mito Uzumaki."_ Now it was Naruto's turn to tilt his head and look at the woman thinking of where he heard that name before. Getting up, what Naruto saw outright freaked him out. Standing nearby was the Shodai and Nidaime Hokages, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju; Behind them were his parents and Kurama. Getting up quickly, Naruto immediately bowed towards the three figures; all the while apologizing to Mito about sleeping on her legs.

"_No need to apologize child. I had insisted to your mother that you lay where you were."_ Naruto stopped his apology, but kept bowing to the three making them sweat-drop. It took a good 10 minutes to make Naruto stop, which they were grateful.

"How….how did you …" Naruto didn't finish before Hashirama cut answered him.

"_The Shinigami brought us here…he said something about a request from a challenger that beat him."_ Naruto nodded at that and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah…I sorta challenged the Shinigami to a duel." This entitled all three peoples' eyes to widen. "B-but I did beat him! All wanted to speak to my parents again! They…died when I was born, them being here was the only way I felt safe. The Shinigami cut my connection to them a while ago and didn't give it back." Naruto said to clear things up. Mito gasped upon hearing that Kushina died, and Hashirama and Tobirama nodded at his reasoning.

"_If your parents are truly dead then why are they here?"_ Tobirama asked as he looked over to Kushina and Minato.

"Well apparently, the Shinigami brought them back and placed some of their souls into the seal that keeps Kurama, the _Kyūbi_ no Vixen in me. They are dead, as they can't really leave the seal, but at the same time their souls make them alive." Naruto explained.

"_So it is the same for us then?"_ Tobirama asked as Naruto nodded.

"_Well seeing as we took enough time from your parents. Why don't we go see them?"_ Mito asked as she started to walk away from the two Kages and Uzumaki. Upon walking up to them, Kushina went to hug Naruto. The other's watches as Kushina gave Naruto a death grip-like hug all the while whispering that she was worried about him. It was then that the Shinigami appeared in a bright flash.

"**I see that the brat is awake, good."** Naruto growled at the god, but didn't do anything else. **"Relax human, I'm not here to kill you or anything. I came here to tell you about the things I've done to grant your requests…but first."** Everyone looked on as two ghostly figures of Minato and Kushina appeared. The two walked up and grabbed the real one's hands; immediately their bodies gained more color in their skin.

"What?"

"**I honored my side of the deal for losing to you. Instead of the Five-thousand souls that you own me it has be shortened down to Two-thousand. Once it reaches a thousand, you will be able to bring back one of your parents."** The Shinigami stated and Naruto nodded. **"I addition to that, as you may have seen, I have brought you the first two Hokages and another one that challenged me. These will be the ones to teach you to master your abilities. As for the connection, I've reestablished it for you to speak to your parents again."**

"What about the Justsu?" Naruto asked.

"**Yes, I've also added those to your mind. The first one is the known ****'Sealing Jutsu: Reaper Death Seal'**** and the other is called ****'Shinigami Will: Earthly bonds Jutsu'****. The first jutsu is one that you can ask you father about; the only benefit is that I will not take your soul. The second Jutsu is one of my own; it allows you to summon those that are located in this seal or are deceased family and Clansmen. This includes those three as they will be staying here like your parents."** The Shinigami stated. Naruto looked shock upon hearing what he was granted.

"…and finally, what about contacting you?"

"**Ah yes…look at your hand." **Naruto did, as did everyone else which resulted in Mito gasping. **"The seal on your hand is a sort-of summoning contract. It allows you contact me for something that **_**only**_** I can provide. Please keep in mind, this is not a full contract, so you may be able to use any other summoning contract at you leisure. Also as the Shinigami, I have a very tight schedule to keep in order to balance the death-realm; with such responsibility I can only allow you to summon me three times a day and only for a 5 minutes."**

"I understand."

"**Good, it that is all, I'll take my leave. Remember Naruto, ****Your path is not the path that has already been travelled."** The mysterious figure said cryptically. Naruto looked at him for a while seemingly in concentration. After a while Naruto looked at him with a serious expression on his face.

"What does that mean?" he asked scratching his head in confusion. Minato and Kushina sighed.

_"It means that what has worked for other will not work for you. You need to create your own path. That is something special about you Naruto. While watching you train we saw it. You take a problem and look at it from a completely different perspective than others. You need to find the style that others have passed up as impossible or illogical.__"_Minato said as the Shinigami left. When the death god disappeared, Mito gave a stern look at Naruto. This in turn caught everyone's attention as to why the wife of the Shodai was acting like that.

"_I hope you realize what you've just done." _ Mito asked as she continued to look at Naruto. _"A contact with the Shinigami requires that you keep it a secret from everyone. It also requires that you are a slave to the Shinigami until you've done what he wants."_ Mito said as she looked at Naruto. _"Still, as long as you do not have the blade that he uses to collect souls then you have nothing to worry about."_

"You mean this one?" Naruto asked as he pulled out the kodachi that the Shinigami gave to him in their first encounter. Mito took only one look before she let out a shriek and smacked Naruto's hand away from her. As Mito was cowering in Hashirama's arms, Naruto was looking over the blade and seeing if something was wrong with it. Tobirama also looked at the blade and decided to tell Naruto about it.

"_Naruto, may I talk to you about that blade you possess?"_ Naruto looked confused, but nodded before the two walked off. When they were far enough away from the others, Tobirama crouched down towards Naruto's eye-level. _"Naruto you must understand what carrying that blade means, not only to you, but to everyone you love and cherish. Mito-san is afraid of the blade because she used to wield it…and it cost her dearly for that."_

"What do mean?" Naruto asked.

"_What I mean is that because of the blade, Mito had lost the last remaining member of her family."_ Naruto gasped as he looked at the blade.

"Did they fight over it?" Naruto asked as Tobirama nodded his head.

"_Indeed, the Uzumaki were known to be fierce in sealing. What other didn't know was that they also dealt with the Shinigami; the Uzumaki had always chosen one to wield that blade to protect their village. When Mito was chosen, it was at the time that she was leaving for Konoha to marry my brother."_ Naruto nodded and got a basic picture of what happened.

"I'm guessing that someone didn't want the blade to leave the village?" Naruto asked

"_Yes, Mito's sister, Kaguya did not want the blade of their ancestors to leave Uzushiogakure. The others though supported the idea and Mito's leaving of the village. On the eve of her departure, Kaguya challenged Mito for possession of the blade. Mito refused, but Kaguya had brought up an old law in order to get the blade. Needless to say the two ended up fighting each other to the death…and you can see the results."_

"Mito-sama doesn't want that to happen to me does she?"

"_No she doesn't. Though only an Uzumaki can possess the blade, other outside of the clan have tried to gain possession over it. She is scared that it will tear apart a family because of its power; that it would take one's strength to another level of power and be unstoppable. " _Naruto nodded at that and put the blade away before the two walked back to the rest. Upon walking up to the others, Naruto gave a hug to Mito and whispered in her ear.

"I promise to keep my family together." That caused Mito not only to gasp, but also to shed tears and hug Naruto closer. Kushina looked at the two and had a brief flashback on the same picture…only Naruto was replaced with her when she was his age.

- Entrance to Divine Springs {Next Morning} -

Taki and Utakata were both standing in front of the spring entrance waiting for Naruto. For the past three days, the two have been coming here three times a day to see if Naruto was done. They weren't so much as worried about Naruto, but the fact that they were worried that he would be lost when he got out.

"How long do you think he could be in there?" Utakata asked he looked on. Taki shrugged at that and sighed.

"Who knows I'm not an Uzumaki." The two were about to leave when they heard the sound of walking. Turning around, the two were greeted with the sight of Naruto, and his earth sight fully activated. Both smiled at Naruto as he walked up to them. "I was beginning to think that you liked it in there."

"Nah…that place is to calm for me to stay there." Naruto said as they walked away. "Come on…We need to get back to the rebellion; if I remember correctly, then I've only got six day left before they invade Kiri." Taki nodded while Utakata stood where he was.

"If that is the case, then I'm afraid that I can't join you." The two looked at him. "I am a wanted criminal, there would be no doubt that the rebels would likely give me over to Kiri." Naruto looked at him and shook his head.

"Yeah…because Mei going to do that with the Jinchūriki of the _Kyūbi_ no Vixen. Which, I might add, she was giddy about helping her." Naruto stated shocking Utakata for two reasons. The first…

"Mei-chan is the leader of the Rebellion?" Naruto nodded which enticed the other shock which was…"The _Kyūbi_ is a Vixen!?" Naruto sweat-dropped at that and remembered that only he and a few others knew about that fact. Naruto nodded at that and looked around.

"So…are you going to join us?" Naruto asked. Utakata nodded and started to follow the three back to the rebel base. Naruto took out the map that Taki had and pinpointed where they were in response to where the rebel base was. "If we hurry by using chakra we could be there by mid-day." The others nodded and soon raced off in the direction of the base. Naruto looked back and saw Edge Master along with Kilik and Xianghua waving at him.

- Main Rebel Base {Mid-day} -

Mei was currently looking over the reports that she was given. From the looks of it, Naruto was apparently seen walking through a town with another woman by his side. Adding to the fact that the blood test came back a negative on being Naruto's, it was kind of stressing to have to give this to Team 7.

"Ahem…" Mei looked up and saw Team 7. "Uh…Team Seven reporting for a mission." Kakashi said. Mei looked them over and sighed. Oh how Kami hated her sometimes.

"I have recently seen reports of something that I think concerns you three the most." Mei said gaining all their attention. "*sigh* There have been recent reports that Naruto was seen walking through a town with a woman." Immediately Sasuke forward and grabbed the paper that Mei was holding. Kakashi was about to say something, but a glare from Mei made him stop. As Sasuke walked back to the other, he gave the paper to Hinata.

"We'll take it." Sasuke said. Kakashi was again going to say something but a glare from his two students stopped him. "If there's a chance that Naruto's alive then we need to go get him." Kakashi sighed as he looked down. Sasuke had been more than anxious to go out on a mission to find Naruto since they reported in every time. Mei nodded to them and stamped the paper.

"You have ten minutes to get ready." Sasuke and Hinata nodded as they both left the tent. Just as soon as they left, they came back in. "Wha-"

"Missions Complete: Naruto Uzumaki is back with us." Sasuke said with a smirk. Kakashi and Mei looked at them before the tent flaps opened up. Both adults gasped as Naruto entered with a smile, behind him was a rather tall woman and a boy with a bubble pipe. Naruto looked at them all and smiled.

"Yo." That was Naruto needed to say before he was hugged by Hinata and had his arm punched from Sasuke and his hair ruffled by Kakashi.

"I'm so glad you're back Naruto-kun!"

"Don't freak us out like that…Dope."

"You really had us worried there Naruto."

"Welcome back Naruto." Naruto looked at all of them and smiled again.

"Sorry, I had a little run in from my past and had to figure out a ninja's purpose." Naruto said. This confused everyone, but they let if go. "Also have you met my friends, Taki-oba-chan-sensei and Utakata,Jinchūriki of the Rokubi noKyōda." Naruto said causing Mei to gasp.

{That Night}

Naruto was currently meditating with Taki and Hinata. As soon as Naruto's greeting was done, he was swamped with questions. He only answered what he could without revealing anything about his connection to the Shinigami, where he went and this Uzumaki Kekkei Genkai. It took a while, but Naruto was able to get away from them and met up with Hinata. The two of them were able to talk in peace. When Taki arrived, the three stared to focus on clearing their mind, which led Naruto into his mindscape.

_-Mindscape-_

_Naruto was currently sitting in between Mito and Kushina as the decease Hokages were talking about Naruto's training for the next few days. With luck, they would get Naruto to be able to use the Wood Style like Hashirama, control water better like Tobirama, gain control of lightning like Minato, and have mastered the S__ējigan__ more with Mito and Kushina_

"_You do realize that he needs to concentrate on something eventually, you know what they say, '__A jack of all trades but a master of none'. I agree that he needs to learn this, but we need to have him settle on something after this is done.__" Naruto didn't really listen to them, but got the brunt side of it. His thought eventually went to the Uzumaki clan and his own life._

"_Something on your mind Musuko?" Kushina asked when she noticed that Naruto wasn't paying attention to the others. Naruto sighed. __The blond shook his head. After a while, Naruto lowered his hand._

_"I thought it was just a name. Uzumaki…it was just a name to me. I didn't even think it was the real last name of either of my parents, so it was meaningless to me." Kushina and Mito flinched at that statement. "But it was the only name I had so I wanted to make it something that everyone would know. When I found out that I have a mom with the same name and I used to have a clan and…" Naruto turned to look at the two adults in front of him. His eyes just held uncertainty. "The old man never told me anything about my parents until after I met them personally." the blond said._

_"In his own way, Hiru-chan was trying to protect you." Mito said while she frowned, "I do not think he went about it the right way, but his intentions were just." Naruto just shook his head again._

_"I just hate the fact that EVERYBODY," he threw his arms up high, "knows more about me than I know about myself. It's not fucking fair!" He glared at Kushina, who flinched. "Even you…you know more about me than I do and we just met a few months ago…" Kushina just turned away while the other watched from where they are. From that point, all of them made one promise to the blonde, but Kushina and Mito said to him personally.._

"_We'll help you learn about yourself…"_

-Real-world-

In the real-world Naruto started to shed tears…something he didn't notice as he opened his eyes and looked at the sky. Hinata and Taki, both of them were gone and a note was on his lap, leaving Naruto to look at the sky.

"Who else knows more about me?"

A/N: There you go. Next time: Fighting Mitsurugi, mastering the earth, and confronting the puppeteer.


	34. Encounters

A/N: This chapter has Naruto confronts Mitsurugi, Mastering the earth through sub-elements, and meeting the person behind the Purge.

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking/Connection Talk'  
"Jutsu/Technique"  
_Mindscape/Flashback_  
**"Demon/Summon Speaking"  
'Demon/Summon thinking'**

- Kiri Supply Camp {3 Days left before the Invasion} -

Team 7 and Zabuza were currently sitting on the top of a Cliff-side looking over the Supply camp that belonged to Kirigakure. Ever since the supply caravan had a most of it's supplies destroyed, Mei had been sending out teams to nearby supply camps to steal from. Tonight it was Team 7's turn…and it was considered another C-ranked mission. There was only one thought that passed through the Genin's minds.

'There had got to be a curse with us doing C-ranked missions.' Kakashi and Zabuza started going through the plans to get the things they needed. Sasuke and Hinata were checking over their gear while Naruto was staring into space…literally since it was nighttime. Kakashi and Zabuza nodded at their plan and looked over the three; it would be difficult since they needed a perfect senbon thrower…and Haku was with Utakata in another base.

"Naruto…" Kakashi said as he kicked the blonde lightly waking him from his thoughts, "…how good are you at senbon? We need a way to knock the guards out." Kakashi explained as Naruto looked over everything and memorized it. It also helped that he had his Wind and Fire sight to look and memorize things. Naruto didn't say anything as he got up and crouched down.

"Kakashi-sensei…did Mei say anything about how the camp should be after we leave?" Kakashi looked at Naruto, then at Zabuza who only shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't believe she said anything important about it, why?" Kakashi asked as Naruto pulled out some of his Nova explosion tags. Kakashi soon caught onto the idea and nodded while taking some tags to give to the others. Zabuza watched with interest as Naruto started shuffling through his things and brought out a scroll that had Kiba and Kubikiribōchō sealed inside. Unsealing the larger of the two swords, Naruto handed it, with great difficulty, to Zabuza.

"Don't get any ideas. You're going to give that back when we're done here." Zabuza nodded as he took hold of his blade again. Kakashi stared at camp before turning to Naruto.

"What's the plan?"

"Hinata-chan and I are going to sneak through and seal up everything that we can get our hands on. Zabuza, in about 10 minutes …I'm going to need you to cause a distraction to let Kakashi and Sasuke slip in and plant these tags on all the buildings. After that we'll blow the place sky high and finish off any stragglers." Everyone nodded as Naruto and Hinata started to go down the hill and infiltrate the camp.

"Hinata-chan…do you know how a storage seal works?" Hinata nodded as they quickly dashed around, avoiding security. Both Genin found that the ones doing patrol, wasn't all experienced since they only turned when the two were already far away from the area. However, because of this being like second nature to him, Naruto didn't need any chakra to sneak making it so that he was technically invisible to everyone. Naruto had also placed a suppression seal on Hinata making it quite difficult to detect her presence, except by actually seeing her. After a while of evading security, they were now in front of the storage building.

[With Zabuza]

"Alright, that should be enough time for that gaki and his girlfriend to do what they need." Zabuza said as he hoisted Kubikiribōchō over his shoulder. Adjusting to the weight, Zabuza headed down the hill to get the killing started. Kakashi and Sasuke immediately followed, but then split as they off to do their tasks. As they arrived at the destinations needed, Naruto threw a kunai towards Zabuza to tell him to start. "About damn time." Zabuza said as he did hand-signs in a rapid pace. "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu."

Many of the Kiri-nins immediately noticed the increase of the fog around the area. As soon as everything was white, the alarms had gone off causing everyone to start moving around and signal the others to get to work.

[With Naruto and Hinata]

Naruto and Hinata were currently sealing everything that was not bolted to the floor. The only reason they could see was because of Hinata's Byakugan. Naruto also placed a frequency seal on her that pulsed out to him and showed her location. It didn't take long for them to seal up every single thing in the building that could be used as a weapon. As soon as Naruto reached the door, he tossed in a crumpled up paper on the floor.

[With Zabuza]

Zabuza." A dread-locked shinobi stated. "It's been some time. I never thought you of all people would run around the Mist selflessly saving the lives of others. What happened, did you finally find a donor to get that heart transplant you've always wanted?" The former member of the Seven Swordsman smirked under his mask of bandages.

"Funny. I'll have you know this wasn't exactly my idea, but unfortunately my partners have something of a hero complex and I'm just going along with it." Zabuza said as he hoisted Kubikiribōchō over his shoulder again. The other swords man brought out a scroll that revealed itself to be the case for all the Seven Swordsman's' weapons. Looking at the weapon in Zabuza's and he left out a chuckle

"Ah, the infamous Kubikiribōchō is still in your possession is it?" The man chuckled. "It's a shame. Yagura is interested in gathering all the blades again to form a new group. Who knows? Maybe if you surrender that blade he'll let you join, if not then I can just kill you."

"Hmn you haven't changed Jinpachi." Jinpachi's instincts kicked in and he leaped to the side just as the Kubikiribōchō slammed into the ground nearly cutting off his arm. "You can take this sword after I'm dead and gone."

"Sorry Zabuza you're not getting me like that." Jinpachi answered, silent rage evident in his voice. Raising his own sword up, Zabuza saw the infamous Shibuki in Jinpachi's hand. The sword was known for having the use of a special scroll inside of it that was basically a roll of explosive paper. Jinpachi was also known for being an expert in annihilating a lot of people with it.

"Hn…if that's it then I guess I'll be taking that scroll with me after I kill you Jinpachi." Jinpachi eyes narrowed. "Because only I know that this sword…isn't even mine anymore."

[With Kakashi and Sasuke]

"That ought to do it Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke said as he met back up with the jonin. Kakashi nodded at that and looked around, this was the place that Naruto said to meet up when they were done.

"Where's Naruto?" The two didn't have to wait long before Naruto was seen soaring right pass them. Kakashi manage to catch Naruto as he flew by and sat him on the floor. "Naruto! What happened? Who did this? Where's Hinata?" Naruto raised his arm and pointed in front of them. Kakashi and Sasuke followed it and saw Mitsurugi standing there with Hinata draped over his shoulder, unconscious.

"Hmp…I expected something better than out last encounter." Mitsurugi said as he looked at Naruto. Taking Hinata in his arm, he looked at the two before he threw her over to them; this all by itself caused Kakashi and Sasuke to raise an eyebrow at his motives. Something Naruto decided to clue them into as he got up and rubbed his chest where he was kicked.

"This guy still has some type of moral that he goes by. Screwed in the head too if you ask me. He's honorable, but doesn't have a true moral to live by." Naruto explained as he got and unsealed his sword. Mitsurugi instantly became interested by the blade as it emitted a dark aura from it. "Kakashi-sensei…do you mind if I have a rematch with this guy?" Kakashi was about to argue, but stopped when Naruto casted a glance at Hinata's form. Seeing as it was more of a personal thing, Kakashi nodded.

"So it seems that you have a new sword. It may also be the one that I'm looking for as well. Let's see who wins-"

"Shut up already. Let's just get this started." Mitsurugi simply smirked and looked at Naruto before he drew his katana and spun it around in his hand.

"So, you're eager to die, very well."

"Kakashi-sensei…take Hinata-chan and the others and meet me back at camp. Don't forget to take out as much people as you can on the way out." Naruto ordered to which Kakashi surprisingly nodded and followed obediently. The last thing the two saw was Naruto and Mitsurugi charging at each other.

[With Zabuza]

The battle erupted and Jinpachi sprang towards and sent a large swing towards Zabuza's head. Zabuza blocked the explosive sword with his own and immediately spun around to counter, aiming to slice off the man's sword arm.

The swordsman twisted his body out of the way, dropped onto the ground and tried attacking Zabuza's knees. Zabuza jumped and slammed his blade down on to the sword so he wouldn't be blown up. To add to the pressure, Zabuza added some chakra to his arm so it increased the pressure he swung it down with. The reinforced slam buried the explosive sword into the ground threatening to detonate it. In the same movement Zabuza simultaneously sent a roundhouse kick Jinpachi's throat. Jinpachi threw his head back, feeling the kick graze across the edge of his nose, before pulling his sword out of the ground and black flipping away from the crimson clad blond in an attempt to gain some distance.

"Almost got me there Zabuza…but you didn't." Zabuza didn't say anything, instead he simply returned to his earlier stance and hoisted over his shoulder. "Impressive," Jinpachi commented. "Not only did you stop my attacks you also managed to nullify its explosive ability by driving it in the ground with your sword." Zabuza simply watched as Jinpachi had the paper bombs roll out a new set.

"Save your critiques for someone who gives a damn Jinpachi." Zabuza said with a bit of a growl. Taking the time to strike Zabuza swung Kubikiribōchō horizontally at Jinpachi's chest forcing the swordsman to leap back, while taking a defensive stance. Suddenly, a water dragon came barreling towards Jinpachi. Jipachi smirked and swung his sword causing an explosion with the blade. What he didn't know was that Zabuza was within said dragon and with little time to dodge Zabuza swung his sword and manage to cut through the swordsman's shoulder making him gasp in pain.

"Hidden Mist Jutsu." Jinpachi's eyes widened in surprise at the Jutsu used before he resorted to using his ears; that was until Zabuza's sword came through the mist and bisected him. Having nowhere to dodge, he futilely tried to block the oncoming attack with Shibuki not seeing Zabuza throw some shuriken in between the two blades. The swords exploded as steel shattered, each fragment becoming a jagged knife aimed at the enemy. Jinpachi never stood a chance as his body was torn asunder as the shrapnel ripped through his flesh and sent him flying back into a collapsing house.

Landing restively safe, Zabuza walked towards dying man. Jinpachi coughed up blood; a majority of his vital organs had either ruptured or had been completed destroyed and not even Tsunade herself could have saved him from his wounds.

"Hehehe…Zabuza…you haven't changed at all. All I manage to get was two of the swords…Jinnin's and Kushimaru's." Zabuza nodded as he took the scroll from the man as well as his own sword.

"This could've been avoided Jinpachi. This is your death." Zabuza stood up and brought down his sword instantly decapitating Jinpachi. Pulling out a storage scroll, Zabuza sealed the head away and took the body into one of the buildings that were tagged.

[With Naruto]

The two katana-users rushed towards the each other and with mighty swings, the blades clashed. Naruto leapt back as a Mitsurugi tried to kick him in the stomach.

"It seems that you've improved since we last faced off. Tell me…was Taki the one who saved you from that fall?" Mitsurugi asked only to see Naruto's eyes narrow, "If that's the case, I should thank her for letting me be able to kill you!" Naruto growled out and gripped his sword's handle a little harder.

"This fight is to decide who is stronger: you and me. If you want to stop, I will hold it against you." Mitsurugi smirked and got into a position.

"This is a fight between swordsmen who trained their entire lives for live and die by the blade," Mitsurugi said as he looked at Naruto, "To forfeit now would be nothing but a dishonor to everything they live for." Mitsurugi went for an overhead cleave before Naruto dodged the blade. Naruto sheathed his sword from and rushed in with his body close to the ground. Unsheathing his sword as he closed in, the blades crossed, with Mitsurugi rebounded first and got ready to decapitate Naruto.

"One blade Fire Style: Swift Counter!" Naruto shouted as he and Mitsurugi ended up behind each other. Mitsurugi fell to his knees as a large gash tore from his shoulder as the left sleeve of Naruto's jacket fell with blood slowly dripping from his wound.

"Your skills with a blade have improved boy." Mitsurugi commented as he stood up, ignoring the gushing blood from his wounds, "What do you call that style?" Naruto held up his sword and swung it to get the blood off.

"One blade Fire style: a style where one blade is used with fire to increase its power and strength for any attack." Mitsurugi let out a chuckle as more blood dripped from his wound.

"I see that you've found your purpose…boy," said Mitsurugi as he rushed towards his opponent,

"Let's finish this!" Naruto followed as he letting his blade whistle through the wind. For both of them, time seemed to slow down as each step they took made a loud, deafening crunch. Both warriors saw an image replace their opponent; Naruto saw a demon with a large Katana poised to swing and decapitate him, Mitsurugi saw the very Shinigami before him, ready to end his life. Both swordsmen swung their respective blades in painful slow motion as the clash of metal echoed through the camp and both combatants stood behind each other. At the end, if one was watching, they would've seen Naruto channel Kurama's chakra into the blade and caused it to catch fire.

"Impressive kid," said Mitsurugi as his sword fell from his hands, "It seems there was someone stronger than me after all." Naruto simply sent another spike of Kurama's chakra to his blade and ignited it into flames.

"Kyubi Fire Style," said Naruto as blood slowly ran down his arm from the wound on his shoulder, "Amaterasu." Naruto ran forward and sent a nine slashes toward Mitsurugi. Blood sprayed violently from the Mitsurugi's chest as the dying samurai fell to his knees. "My name is Naruto…Naruto Uzumaki-Namilaze…" Mitsurugi's eyes widened.

"An Uzumaki and a Namikaze?" said Mitsurugi as his body fell forward into the puddle of blood as Naruto sealed his blade away. The Demon Samurai of the Murakami Clan was dead on the ground. Naruto turned around and was met with the sight of a hooded figure that was looking at Mitsurugi's body. Turning his gaze up, Naruto's eyes narrowed as he caught the glimpse of something he's seen only in Konoha…the Sharingan.

[With the others]

Zabuza was currently walking to Kakashi and Sasuke as one of the buildings started to explode. Looking at him he had one question…

"Where's the Gaki?"

"We thought he was with you!" Zabuza shook his head as another building exploded behind him. Kakashi and the others immediately began to worry as another building exploded.

[With Naruto]

Naruto stared at the cloaked figure that was standing next to Mitsurugi's body as he gripped the handle of his sword again. The mask man only took one look at him before his Sharingan began to spin. Naruto couldn't help but feel sleepy as he stared into the eye of person in front of him…that ended within a second when he found himself next to Mitsurugi's body and the cloaked figure was standing a ways from him.

"I'm looking forward to the fight that you'll have with the Sanbi. I'll be sure to control him to an easy scale for you." With that said, the cloaked figure disappeared into a vortex like distortion before he was gone. Naruto immediately noticed that the buildings with his Nova tags had started to go off. Not thinking correctly, Naruto went through a series of hand-signs before he clapped his hands together.

"Please let this work…Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall." Immediately, trees started to form around Naruto and Mitsurugi's dead body and began to solidify into a hardened dome. As this finished, Naruto spiked his chakra and set off all his Nova tags at once.

[With the others]

Kakashi and Zabuza were about to run back into the camp…until everyone was thrown back as the entire place went up in a bright flash of light. Getting up as quickly as he could, Kakashi was unfortunate victim of being Naruto's cushion. As it turned out, Naruto sent a clone out before he closed the wooden dome around him, and used the last 5 seconds to let it run out; As Naruto spiked his chakra, he replaced himself with the clone and was sent flying from all of his tags going off.

"WHOO! That was awesome! Let's do that again!" Naruto shouted as he looked at everyone else. Feeling someone tap his shoulder, Naruto twisted his body and saw that he was laying on top of Kakashi. "Hehehe…Uh, sorry about that Kakashi-sensei; I probably shouldn't have worried you so much."

"It's alright Naruto. Next time, I want you to tell me if you're going to change the plan in the spot. I don't want to be the one to tell your mother that you died from changing a plan." Naruto nodded at that and saw that the blast had done a number on the supply camp as there was nothing but a giant crater. "Well…seeing as we have what we came for…why don't we head back to base?" Everyone nodded, besides an still unconscious Hinata, and left back with everything that Naruto and Hinata had pilfered in the mission.

Had anyone of them gone back, they would've seen the clone carrying Mitsurugi's body away from the area to give him a proper burial.

- Rebel base {The Next Morning} -

Naruto was currently practicing his hand-signs as he watched Kakashi and Sasuke were sparing; Hinata was actually sleeping seeing as it was like 5 in the morning. Team 7 and Zabuza had arrived around midnight and immediately went to bed since no one wanted to wake up Mei and tell her that they had come back. That was interrupted when Chōjūrō had run up to them panting.

"A…*pant*scout just came…*Pant*and Yagura's announced…*pant*that he's executing… *pant*some bloodline clans…*Pant*tomorrow!" Naruto's eyes widened with shock as he grabbed Chōjūrō by the shoulders.

"Are you sure that's what he said?" Chōjūrō nodded as the rest of the team ran up to the two.

"Please you have to come right away. Mei-sama has heard that you've returned and requests that you meet her at the center of the camp." Naruto nodded and followed Chojuro as they sprinted towards the center of the camp. Kakashi and Sasuke shared a looked before they followed the two as well, Kakashi took the time to get Hinata out of bed as well.

(Center of Rebel Camp)

The center of the rebel camp was in absolute chaos. Like Team 7, nearly all of the shinobi in the camp had been informed of the news and were now gathered in the meeting grounds, shouting out their own opinion and adding to the general mayhem. Several of the rebels were yelling and arguing about what to do but no clear voice could be heard in the ruckus.

"This is crazy." Kakashi commented.

"If you think this is bad then you haven't seen Konoha's council on a bad day." Minato muttered within the seal. Hashirama and Tobirama both raised their eyebrows at that, but listened on.

"Alright, Alright. Everyone settle down. SILENCE!" Mei shouted as the shinobi that were speaking gradually quieted though many of them still murmured softly to one another. "Yes, our scouts reported that the prisoners of the camps are indeed being transported to an unknown valley where Yagura had stationed his main army. Therefore we can only conclude that he intends to carry out his threat."

"It's obviously a trap." Naruto surmised as he stepped up to the center for everyone to hear him. "If he wanted to just kill them he could've done it quietly without any of us knowing. That fact that he would announce it like that means that he's expecting us to try and save them."

"I traveled to that valley and it's definitely a trap." Ao told them scowling, adding in his thoughts. "The grottos along those shores are the perfect the place to hide an ambush. We walk in and suddenly we're surrounded, nowhere to run."

"The best option," Mei mused, "Would be to wait and hold out against Yagura so we can gather more forces." Naruto's head whipped up.

"What was that? Did you just say to wait them out?" Naruto asked, bewildered that Mei said that.

"Naruto understand this," Ao explained. "The decision made complete sense in terms of playing this strategically; after all, not everyone could be saved, especially in a time of war." As he spoke, many of the rebels nodded, murmuring in agreement as they saw the logic in that plan, the old man said it best. Within Naruto's seal everyone had their head down. It was Hashirama that said the one thing about war.

"Kill one to save ten. Kill ten to save a hundred. Kill a hundred to save a thousand. And kill a thousand to save millions. There were times when the few had to be sacrificed in order to save the many." But then again, there was flip side of the argument.

"How could we hope to save ten if we don't have the courage to save one? There must have been thousands of people down there in that valley, innocent men, women and children about to be executed for something they never had any power over." Naruto shouted before the crowd could disperse.

"What was the point of fighting if all they're going to do was to replace Yagura's cruel and tyrannical regime with an equally heartless and callous one?" Kushina asked within the seal. "So what if there's little to no chance of actually being able to save them? Even if the odds were low, they weren't zero and that is the most important statistic of all."

"That would be the smart thing to do." Naruto agreed both with his mother and with Ao and Mei. "But who ever said, I was smart. I'm going to go save them." Nearly every face there turned to him in shock.

"Weren't you the first one to say that it was a trap?" Mei asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"And you're still going to go?"

"Yeah."

"Do you even have a plan?"

"N-…" Naruto paused in mid answer as he stopped to think. "Wait…that depends…does making it up as you go along count as a plan?" No one said anything so Naruto took that as a yes.

"We'd be outnumbered and out maneuvered." Mei protested, hoping to talk Naruto out of this mad scheme. "You can't seriously expect any of us to actually go."

"I never expected anyone to go." Naruto told her with fierce intensity. "Going to save those people is my personal decision, no one else's. If you don't want to go then you have the right to make that choice… and so do I." Naruto paused as he returned the stares of disbelief. "I'm not stupid enough to have any delusions about what I'm getting myself into. I'm not expecting a glorious or painless death. No matter what happens…I promise to make Yagura realize his mistake in starting this war… and I don't go back on my promises." Zabuza shook his head and sighed.

"A twelve year old Konoha brat and an army of Blood-line users and it's the brat that has the most balls out of all of us. I'd never live it down if I didn't go."

"If Zabuza-sama is going, then so am I. Naruto will have us by his side." Haku stated firmly. Mei whirled around and looked at the three in disbelief.

"You can't be serious!" Seeing as Team 7 also walked up to Naruto and stood by him, the other soon stared to gather around him as well. Mei sighed in resignation. "I've heard others do some extremely reckless things and this takes the cake by far. But… "She paused as a small smile crept upon her lips, "I guess Yagura will have to deal with me." Chōjūrō nodded and stood next to Mei while placing his hand on the sword on his back.

"I'll protect Mei-sama's smile if it costs me my life!" Ao smacked his palm into his face and sighed.

"I'm not going to be able to talk you guys out of this am I?" he asked rhetorically looking around at their determined expressions. "Fine, I may as well go too. Someone has to keep you kids from doing anything too crazy." One by one the present shinobi gave their assent and agreement, smiling despite knowing full well the near suicidal situation. Suddenly the possibility of their extremely likely deaths no longer seemed to matter. Or maybe it did matter, only in such a way that they were determined to make those deaths meaningful and sell their lives dearly.

"Incredible," Hashirama said in the seal with a small smile on his face. "He inspired an entire nation to follow the Will of Fire without even realizing it." Naruto gave them a grin.

"Let's get ready then." Everyone cheered they went to their tents and got ready for the battle.

_- Naruto's Mindscape {Nighttime} -_

_Naruto was currently through the halls of his mind, knowing that something wasn't right. Almost immediately he channeled his chakra, but found himself still in his mindscape._

_'This is not a good thing.' Naruto thought as he walked on…and found his sister Fū standing there._

_"Fu?" Fū looked over towards Naruto and smiled before running to hug him. Naruto was confused, but went with it until Utakata appeared in front of them and motioned them to follow him._

_"Where are going Utakata? Where are my parents" asked Naruto only to have Utakata ignore him. All three entered an office and saw Yagura sitting in his chair. Naruto instantly tensed, but quickly placed Fū behind him._

_"Hello…my family," said Yagura smiling at them. Naruto and Fū both looked at him like he had a second head._

_"Family?" They both asked._

_"Yes family. I see the four of us as family Naruto-kun; I as your brothers and you Fū-chan as a sister. We all share the same destiny," said Yagura said._

_"Really?" asked Fū looking at the Mizukage. Yagura nodded._

_"Yes we do. You two had already tapped into your demon's powers, but not fully and not yet. I want you to join me in taking over the world," said Yagura which made Naruto tense again and place a hand on one of his weapons…it was nice to switch weapons now and then. Naruto glared at him._

_"Are you Nuts! Even if you had a powerful enough army, and that's a big IF you'd need something strong enough to take out all the other Kages at if not at different times then at once," said Naruto looking at Yagura who smiled_

_"That's what we are here for. If we can gather up the other members of our family, we'll turn the whole world into slaves. We will burn this world to the ground and turn it to ashes and then rebuild it in our image… As GODS," said Yagura with a light smirk on his lips. Naruto gritted his teeth, before letting Kyubi's chakra flow._

_"Are you mad Yagura! Millions will die in such a large war! Hell I should kill you for starting this damn Blood-line Purge!" yelled Naruto. Yagura chuckled, before looking out the window._

_"I don't expect you to answer now my young siblings. I'll first show you a taste of what we have planned for the world," said Yagura as Utakata saw them out of the room. Instantly, Naruto saw Fū and Utakata disappear and the corridor that they were in was replaced with a forest. What surprised Naruto was that he saw Kurama in the distance destroying a town; Naruto turned his head when he saw a masked man appear in front of him._

_"It's time for you to die Namikaze." The masked figure said in a deep voice. Instantly the two were clashing forces, before Naruto threw a kunai that phased through the man, only for Naruto to appear in a flash and land a 'Rasengan' on his back. Naruto looked around before he felt a shock in his body and kneeled in the ground. The cloaked figure appeared in front of him and let out a really deep laugh._

_"I am looking forward to your match with Yagura. I hope you don't damage each other too much; I still need Yagura as a puppet." With that said, the masked man disappeared. Naruto looked around as the area changed from the forest, back to the regular mindscape that he was in. As he began to fade, he saw that he was in Kushina's lap. Naruto smiled as he went to sleep with one thing to say._

_"That was a serious mind-fuck…" Kushina sweat-dropped and took Naruto to a bed to get some rest, in both his mind and in real-life. Minato, Mito, Hashirama, and Tobirama all walked up to her and took a look at Naruto._

_"Do you think he'll be alright? That masked was the same one I faced twelve years ago." Minato said._

_"Do you happen to know his name?" Hashirama asked._

_"No I don't, but I came to the conclusion that the person was Madara Uchiha." This got the three elders' eyes to widen. "On the night that Naruto was born, he attacked Kushina and released Kurama. I was able to break their connection and figured out that Kurama was placed under a Genjutsu. I was able to break it, but that didn't stop her rampage against Konoha. Eventually, I came to the choice to seal her away into Naruto." Hashirama nodded at that, but Mito bonked Minato on the head._

_"Let's get some rest for tomorrow; Naruto will need all of us if he's going to win." Kushina said to which all of them nodded. As they were about to disperse, Hashirama walked up to Kushina._

_"Excuse me Kushina but, do you know if there is a faster way to have Naruto learn techniques and jutsus in a short amount of time?" Kushina stopped and nodded before she had him follow her to an unknown area. Everyone would be in for a surprise tomorrow, and Naruto would be able to end the war in one day._

A/N: There you go another chapter done. Mitsurugi's death, not tied to SC series, and the Poll will end after another chaper in my other story. Next time: The 'One Day War' starts, Naruto, Utakata and Yagura face off, and a new Jinchūriki of the Sanbi is given to Konoha.


	35. Sorry

Sorry about this, but I'm getting a new laptop soon since my old one is pretty much dying right now. As of now, this story is on hold. I will keep writing chapters, but expect uploads to be very slow.

I anyone wants...they could 'adopt' this. THIS doesn't mean I won't be stopping it, just you have to wait longer for each chapter. PM if you want to take over on the story for your own ideas. I'll still keep the original up and upload when I can.

Again I am REALLY sorry for this.


	36. One-Day War

A/N: This chapter is the 'One-day War'.

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking/Connection Talk'  
"Jutsu/Technique"  
_Mindscape/Flashback  
_**"Demon/Summon Speaking"  
'Demon/Summon thinking'**

-Edge of Valley-

The rebels crept through the woods in complete darkness as they approached the Unnamed Valley. Mei raised her hand, a signal that traveled down the rest of their dispersed ranks for them to stop and take a small break. Followed by Ao and Chōjūrō, she walked over to the vanguard of the loose formation where Naruto and his partners had taken placed. She spotted Naruto, Taki, Utakata and Zabuza with the former apparently having an argument with the rest of his team that had refused to follow his command to go with the rest of the army. Naruto noticed Mei walking towards them and broke off his argument with his team having Kakashi sort it out, so he could turn to meet her.

"Mei." She nodded curtly.

"I've been thinking about this whole situation on our way here." She began. "Yagura wouldn't have laid a trap for us in such an obvious manner." Naruto nodded. It was the same conclusion he had come to as well during the way there.

"I know, he probably set the trap without actually expecting us to fall for it. It's likely this whole set up was a way to demoralize us, show us how helpless we really are. Furthermore, he made announcement in a timeframe where we would have to make the decision immediately. There's barely enough time to make it from our camp to this Valley, so we wouldn't have the time to think of a proper plan of attack." Naruto smirked dryly. "It looks like he's underestimating both my recklessness and our ingenuity."

"Even so, Yagura would still take the proper precautions just in case." Mei pointed out. "Insane as he may be, he's not stupid. We'll be attacking an extremely fortified position."

"He may have taken the physical preparations." Naruto agreed. "But he's also very confident. He will have missed the mental preparations we're going to be using. We can use that to our advantage." Naruto closed his eyes as he thought back to the maps he had seen back at the camp. In his mind, he and everyone else visualized a mental copy of the battlefield, taking care to note every detail and feature of the terrain. Immediately he began running scenarios within his head, trying to figure out Yagura's likeliest possible actions based on what he knew of the man. "Ao was right." Naruto said, opening his eyes. "Those grottos are the likeliest place for Yagura to hide an ambush. There deep enough to that even the best of sensors would have a hard time finding them and there's no other place he could hide a large contingent of soldiers. We can lure them out."

"Ehhhh… How would you do that, Naruto-san?" Chōjūrō asked curiously.

"Two ways." Naruto answered. "First we lure Yagura away from his own army and then we attack with all the force we can. It's the only way to threaten the main force enough for them to come out."

"That's not really luring more than it's 'walking completely into an ambush like a bunch of idiots." Ao pointed out disapprovingly. "Really if you're not going to take this seriously we may as well call this off." In Mei's mind however, she heard something completely different.

_'__Call this off… Call this off… Call off this…engagement!'_

"Ao," Mei called sweetly with a beatific smile on her face. "Kindly shut the fuck up…_before I kill you._" Ao immediately clamped his mouth shut, breaking out in cold sweat. Naruto smiled, shaking his head at their antics.

"They outnumber us by a large number so we can't afford to be forced back." He explained. "And since Yagura already has a pretty good idea of how many men we have, he'd know if we were holding any sizeable force in reserve. But," He added looking up, but in his mind he was looking at the adults. He also pulled out his mask and placed it on before he tapped the eyes. "I have a force he doesn't know about." Mei smiled, immediately catching on.

"I see. He won't expect _you_ to appear and take out some of the opposition. And six extremely unknown ninjas could easily change the tide of battle; add to the fact that your…ability will also catch him off guard." Ao was a little confused but didn't want to really know.

"The grottos may have had their advantages but they also have their disadvantages." Kakashi told them as he walked over to them. "A small but powerful force could bottleneck them at the entrance and take them apart one by one."

"Yeah add to the fact that our team could cover some of the forces and use some of the tags that I made it could turn the tables against them." Mei had one thought on her mind as these two went into details.

'Who taught these two how to strategize? They must have learned by reading old history books from somewhere…yeah that's it.' Ao whistled in admiration.

"Damn, the kid's a genius, no doubt about it." Mei looked over at Team 7, who had been listening intently. "That's the plan so far. Is that fine with you?" She asked diplomatically. They all nodded, impressed by Naruto's strategic analysis of the situation.

"It is, but who's going to lure Yagura away."

"I'll do it of course." Naruto answered calmly.

_"What!"_ Kushina exclaimed in surprise. She wasn't the only one. Everyone around Naruto was looking at him with varying degrees of surprise. Kakashi shook his head as he stepped forward.

"It's too dangerous Naruto! Let someone else do it." Naruto narrowed his eyes and growled making Kakashi stop.

"Frankly, I'm the only one that _can_ fulfill that role." Naruto said dryly. "None of you can go," He said gesturing his team. "Because then he'll easily kill them and will be more cautious if someone like you goes Kakashi-sensei. If someone like Mei or Zabuza goes out and fights him, he may feel threatened and stay closer with his army. If I go, he'll underestimate me since I'm only thirteen and will feel safer going after me. I'm the strongest of my age group in this army and with _them_ and my eyes I'm also the fastest so I can escape much more easily from Yagura." Minato and all the others grimaced inside of his head.

_"You've thought this through."_ He commented getting a nod in his head. Zabuza snorted and crossed his arms before he smile behind his mask.

"It's ballsy plan… I like it."

- Unnamed Valley (9 Am) -

The sunlight edged over the horizon as dawn approached. Yagura stepped out of his tent, into the cold early morning breeze. On both sides, the shinobi that had been on guard outside of his tent snapped to attention.

'Well.' He thought,'I guess they didn't show up after all.' Not that he expected them to, after all. Nearly a kilometer away however, Naruto watched the Mizukage exit his tent with reinforced eyes.

"Sējigan." He whispered. Naruto eyes transformed to allow him to see what Yagura was doing. Quickly going through a series of hand-signs Naruto looked over towards Utakata as he nodded. Finishing the last hand-seal, Naruto looked towards the sun. "Fire Style: Fire Shower Jutsu." With those words, he released a series of fireballs into the sky that were in the air for only a split second before it reached its destination. The shockwave of the explosive force borne from the impact released powerful gust of winds that cause even their group to add chakra to their fett to stand still.

Down below, the entire landscape had been rearranged, a small craters now surrounded where Yagura had once stood. Tents and structures had been blown away or completely razed while any and all of Yagura's subordinates that had been standing within 50 meters of him during the initial strike were now nothing more than piles of smoke or piles of bones, scattered across the field. Team 7 was shocked beyond belief at seeing the damage that was done to the area.

"Unbelievable!" Kakashi breathed, trying to wrap his mind around the absolute devastation he had just seen.

"Holy shit!" Ao swore, his jaw slacking at the sight. As the smoke cleared, everyone saw Yagura stood in the middle of the blast crater, a single tail of the Sanbi draped over Yagura protecting him from the attack. "How the hell is he still alive?!"

"At least he's injured" Mei commented as the others saw that the Mizukage didn't exactly escape unharmed. Large burn marks coated the tail he had used to protect himself, as the man grimaced in pain whilst glaring up at Naruto who was a little less than a kilometer away. However the important thing was that the Mizukage was unsupported by his followers at the moment. Naruto nodded at Utakata and both stood up to face Yagura.

The two jumped, placing some chakra under their feet and launched off towards the tyrannical Mizukage, their gazes not once leaving the other. As they ripped across the clearing making their way closer to Yagura, Naruto waited until he was only fifty meters away from his opponent before the two Jinchūriki made two clones and Naruto slapped an explosive seal on to their backs before they stopped and dived out of the way. The clones continued to fly towards Yagura, the momentum they had built up continuing to propel them at Jinchūriki of the Sanbi at unimaginable speeds.

Yagura simply let the tail of the Sanbi come out again before the clones could attack him unfortunately the clones exploded before they could reach him and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto immediately brought out his weapons as well as making some more clones to hold some of them. Yagura recognized Naruto's eyes immediately and crossed his arms as he sneered at them.

"So, you're Uzumaki." Yagura commented casually as though he was talking about the weather. At the same time though he pulled his staff off his back and hefted it on to his shoulder. "I didn't expect any of you to be…alive."

"Oh?" Naruto asked as he saw Utakata pull out his bubble blower and readied it near his mouth. Naruto thought about putting his mask on but decided against it as he looked on and had his eyes change from sight-to-sight.

"If I remember correctly, they were the first to be cleansed when this Purge started." Yagura said. Naruto's eyes widened when he heard that and let out a growl; he wasn't the only as both Mito and Kushina also narrowed their eyes and became a little feral in their looks. Yagura let a small smirk cross his face as his grip on his staff tighten more. "Nevertheless you will receive no mercy from me, you and the rest of your bloodline scum." Naruto scoffed.

"Are you trying to intimidate me? Because it's not going to work on me." Naruto stated as Yagura frowned.

"Why not?" Naruto smirked.

"Well first of all, you're like what? Twelve?" Naruto asked as Utakata let out a small chuckle.

"I'M IN MY THIRTIES BRAT!" Yagura roared as Naruto hit a lifelong sore point. "And even if I was a kid it's not like you have room to talk!" he pointed out while glaring accusingly at him. Naruto shrugged conceding the point. He was only twelve after all.

"So instead of being a kid you're a midget. Wow, that's so much more frightening." Naruto drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Utakata added to his by actually laughing and hanging his head to hide his tears.

"I'M WILL KILL YOU ALL!" Yagura screamed as he leapt forward, bringing his iron staff to bear down on Naruto. The crimson clad blonde blocked the attack by crisscrossing his blade with a clone's Jian but even then the force of the attack cracked the ground underneath him. Utakata lept out of the way as he blew out a massive amount of bubbles that were sent towards the two.

Naruto smiled as he practically saw red in Yagura's eyes as the two lept away from one another. The rouse had worked perfectly and now it was simply a matter of luring the enraged Jinchuriki away from battle…like leading a bull…an extremely angry and powerful bull that could destroy entire armies perhaps but the point still remained valid. Naruto reinforced his legs to jump back as Yagura attacked again, this time in a horizontal swipe that would have crushed his ribs against his spine if he didn't dodge.

'So, he wants to start off with a weapon battle does he?' Naruto thought as he saw Utakata engage the Sanbi Jinchūriki in pure Taijutsu and was doing a fairly good job at it. Naruto and his clones also jumped in hoping that they would be able to get a shot at him and tagged out it one of them ever got battle continued as the three exchanged blow after blow while Naruto and Utakata slowly allowed themself to be pushed back.

Naruto parried another strike with his Kodachi before spinning his body to counter with a clone swinging a bo staff. Yagura backed away from the vertical swipe, almost effortlessly. Using the momentary space his enemy had created, Naruto also backed off though he did so much further as he jumped back several meters.

'He has a much longer range with that staff of his.' Utakata thought as he jumped out of the way from a vertical strike. The two of them both shared a look before they turned and ran off in the opposite direction of the main fight.

"You're not getting away!" Yagura snarled as he drew out two collapsible Fuma shuriken from behind his back, charging them with chakra and threw them both. Naruto, who was still in mid-flip at this point, was upside down as he watched the projectiles race towards him. He threw both of his own two Fuma shuriken in response, adjusting his aim to counter the large shuriken as he had his clones run back to the main fight and had put away his blade. Seeing a questionable gaze from Utakata, Naruto explained his reasoning.

"Keep in mind that our role was to lure Yagura away from the main battle. We can't hurt him too much or he'll rely on the Sanbi's power and leave us." Seeing that his opponent was now unarmed, Yagura was already going through a set of hand seals, his hands nothing more than a blur.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!" The moisture around him coalesced and formed a large dragon made of water launching itself at Naruto. Landing on his feet, Utakata saw the water dragon rushing towards Naruto. Blowing quickly into his bubble blower, Utakata made a bubble around them to counter the oncoming attack. The water dragon crashed into the bubble dome creating a large explosion. Eventually the water subsided and Naruto looked to where he had last seen Yagura only to find him gone as Utakata released the dome to look around as well.

Suddenly, Utakata's instincts screamed at him to duck. Not wasting any time, he did so just barely dodging a staff swing that would have taken off his head as he grabbed Naruto and threw him away. Instantly he tapped into the Rokubi's chakra and countered with two strikes forcing Yagura back. Naruto fought the urge to smirk as he realized what just happened.

'First he used his Shuriken to force me to react and effectively disarm me. Next he used the water dragon to distract us. And then while we were blinded he closed the gap for the kill on one of us. He must have already figured out that I'd have the advantage in a ranged battle and would need Utakata to do that. Heh, I suppose he isn't the Mizukage for nothing.' With that thought in mind he summoned a dozen clones sent them at the Mizukage. Yagura spun his staff like a windmill creating a makeshift shield that blocked the oncoming onslaught of swords that each clone had in their hands. Instantly he thrust his hand out as coral exploded and dispelled all the coral

"I surprised you managed to survive that attack." Yagura admitted with grudging respect. "Considering how young you are it's strange that you as are an Uzumaki. Who are you?" Naruto smirked.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, son of the Yodaime Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki." Naruto declared. Tone of pride in his voice would have been obvious to any other opponent but it was lost on Yaugra whose face contorted in derision.

"Kushina?" Yagura snorted "Do you mean that two-bit whore who fled from this country like a whipped dog when she was denied citizenship? I'm not surprised that she birthed an arrogant little shit like you." Naruto's gaze instantly darkened at the insult to his mother. Overwhelming killing intent that would have brought lesser ninja to their knees erupted from Naruto.

"What. Did. You. Say?" he snarled, his voice laced with barely restrained fury. Utakata tried to rush forward for an attack, but one of the Sanbi's tails whipped out and knocked him away from the two. Landing in the tree, Utakata was effectively knocked out to battle as Utakata kept talking like nothing happened.

"You heard me boy." Yagura sneered. Dark malicious charks began seeping out of the Mizukage and wrapped themselves around him forming a thick chakra cloak. The Sanbi's signature turtle shell and horns began growing out of Yagura face and back. Behind him, three spike shrimp like tails also took form.

'Kaa-chan! Do you know what he's doing?' Naruto asked as he looked on the figure that used to be Yagura. Kushina gasped as what she saw and quickly explained what was happeneing.

"_Yagura entered the "Version 2" form of the Jinchuriki form." _Kushina said as she looked on. _"When a Jinchūriki trys to access their Tailed-Beast's chakra a cloak of demonic chakra covers them. If the Tailed-Beast and the Jinchūriki have an understanding they could take that cloak up to the next level. That's what you're seeing right now."_

"Can I do something like that?" Naruto asked as the figure stood there waiting for Naruto to move. Instantly, Yagura ran forward to attack Naruto; only to meet thin air as Naruto jumped out of the way. Subconsiously, Naruto's eyes were also scanning the chakra cloak and started to make a copy of it made out of his own chakra.

-Inside the Seal-

Kurama was thinking about it as the others waited on her answer. Stopping she looked at them and hung her head a little.

"**I don't think that he could be able to do it to level to overpower Yagura. He is able, but the most he is going to be able to handle is one tail worth of my power."** Kurama said as she looked at everone. **"Unless we could somehow filter out most of my hatred from my chakra. If Naruto is able to get the pure side of my chakra, it should be able to mold with his and give him more power and probably be able to increase his chakra reserves as well." **Kurama said. Instantly, wood pillars shot out of the ground and wrapped around her; looking around, Kurama saw Kushina and Mito place a hand on her stomach.

"_If I'm correct then you just need to let your chakra flow into Naruto." _ Mito started.

"_Then Hashirama would be able to keep you chakra from increasing and keep in at a steady pace." _Kushina continued

"_While I do that, Mito-chan and Kushina-san will filter out the hatred that is in the chakra." _Hashirama finished as the wood pillars solidified and kept Kurama in a single position. Kurama simply closed her eyes and started to channel her chakra out of the seal as Minato opened it to let more of the power. Kushina and Mito instantly took on a feral look, but kept their hands on Kurama's stomach.

"_Minato-kio, tell Naruto to be careful and let him know that he should feel something."_ Kushina said as Naruto nodded and left. Tobirama simply watched before he felt something tug on the back of his mind.

-Outside the Seal-

"_Naruto! Your mother and Mito-sama have figured a way to give you a little boost. You should feel something soon. If you need to, don't hesitate to summon me or Tobirama-sama to help you out."_ Minato said as Naruto felt a surge of power go throught him. Oddly enough,he didn't care all he knew was that he would need to be focused. The bastard had mocked his mother and sealed his own fate.

"Tou-chan, I want you to get the Shinigami and have him bring back someone you can trust. Maybe one of your other students could work." Minato was confused, but nodded and left already having someone in mind. Resting on all four of his limbs, Naruto placed his hand in a single simble and whispered, "Jinchūriki Shroud: Kyūbi_"_ Instantly the all the chakra that we building up exploded from Naruto that covered in a cloak covered his body. While Yagura looked like his body was cover in a blood-red cloak, Naruto's was clear and colored to that of blue chakra. The other difference was that of Naruto having Nine Tails swishing behind him.

The Mizukage laughed as he saw the cloak manifest over Naruto's body thinking that it was inferior to what he was using. Naruto simply looked at him with an impassive, but feral look and crouched even lower to the ground. Naruto crossed the distance between them in microseconds and swung down on Yagura with his claws. He had moved so fast, Yagura barely managed to dodge the oncoming attack even in the form he was in. The claw was also covered in the cloak that smashed the earth, pulverizing a large area of the ground beneath them into pieces.

'He's even stronger and faster than before!' Yagura noted with some alarm as he spun around Naruto's now exposed back and slammed both his palms into it.

"Coral Palm!" Large formations of coral grew on his back restricting his muscles in that area. Naruto gritted his teeth in pain as he was sent flying several meters before slamming down both feet on to the ground and sliding against the dirt. He looked up just in time to see Yagura leaping towards him, ready to attack once more. Naruo refused to give him the opportunity. He drew back his head in preparation to counter.

"Jinchūriki Bomb!" As Naruto said this, a ball of chakra, the size of a 'Rasengan' had formed in front of his face before it shot off toward Yagura. Yagura found himself facing a high-speed ball. It was a testament to his skill and experience as a ninja that he managed to avoid the attack but he could not avoid the aftershock of the explosion that landed near the valley a mile away. As he landed, he saw that Naruto was standing there like it was nothing and continued to stare at him.

- Unnamed Valley (Noon) -

Within the Valley the entire battle stopped momentarily as everyone saw a blue ball that was going towards them. None were prepared as it touched the ground and expanded as well as sending off a shockwave. Sasuke and Hinata were blown back before Kakashi and Ao grabbed them from where they were.

'What the hell was that?! It was like a Tailed-Beast Bomb, but less deadly.' Mei thought as she looked at the damage. She noticed that it didn't damage the earth but had caught most of the Kiri-nins within it. Clearing his eyes from the bright flash, Kakashi had also noticed that, most of the Kirik-nins stopped using hand-signs for some reason and mainly switched to Taijutsu. It wasn't until he saw one that tried to do a jutsu…did nothing as he finished the last hand-signs and made a gesture.

"That attack, whatever it was, had somehow disabled their chakra usage." Kakashi shouted outloud as he and Sasuke both killed an enemy. Hinata's eyes lingered on where Naruto headed before she turn her focus back to the battle as Ao killed a Kiri-nin next to her.

'Please be safe Naruto-kun.'

[With Naruto]

Naruto targeted the upper arm, collarbone, windpipe, temple, diaphragm, ribs, testicles, and thighs as he swiped at Yagura. If Yagura hadn't been in his second form he would've been nothing but dismembered body parts by now; even then the attacks accomplished tremendous damage to his body.

_"Looks like the Sanbi gives him extremely high defensive properties"_ Tobirama said as he and Minato looked on_. "Those attacks would've taken out any normal ninja. Yagura is as fearsome as the rumors say." _Naruto shifted his body for a moment and gasped when he felt immense pain from his back where Yagura had struck him earlier. The two also noticed that Kurama mimicked his actions as the wood around her let her kneel down.

_"__It's like his entire back is paralyzed. What the hell was that attack?" __Minato asked when he saw Naruto get knocked back and had the coral break off his back when he rolled._

"**It's called the ****'Coral Palm'****. It's a strike that grows paralyzing corals on to your back, restricting your movements." ****Kurama said as she continued to let out some chakra. What they didn't know was that Naruto was able to be listen to them and noted that attack. Looking up he turned his body to its stomach and mule kicked Yagura before he got up and did a series of hand-signs.**

"You son of a bitch!" Yagura snarled as he struggled to his feet. "I'm going to kill you."

"Not likely! Shinigami's Will: Earthly Bonds Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as he slammed his hand to ground. In a puff of smoke, Minato, Tobirama and an unknown female that looked around Kakashi's age stood in front of Naruto. Yagura's eyes widened as he looked at Minato and Tobirama as they stood in front of him. Suddenly, Yagura started to laugh as he looked on.

"I will concede, you have pushed me to this point that only a few could. You should be honored to die by this form." Yagura said as an explosion of malicious chakra sent the four flying back high into the air. Naruto had the cloak reach out and grab the other before he twisted himself around and used his cloak to shield them from the blast but even then, his body strained to hold against such a powerful shock wave. Landing an enormous distance away from where he was thrown, Naruto looked up to see a giant three tailed turtle. It resembled a much larger and detailed version of Yagura's previous form, but lacked the crimson skin.

"Is that… the Sanbi?" Naruto questioned.

"**Yeah, that's him alright. Watch out Naruto, ****Otōto**** might not be the strongest of us, but he's definitely not the weakest." ****Kurama warned as she focused again.**

"_Oh, really?"_ Kushina asked sarcastically. "_And here I thought fighting one of the tailed beasts would be easy. Kami knows this must be my musuko's first time ever fighting one."_

'**Che, smartass.' ****Kurama thought as she looked at Kushina, obvious in her features that she was losing herself to the anger that was in Kurama's chakra. ****"You better finish this fight soon Naruto your mother can't keep this up for long."**** Naruto nodded before he looked up to the Tailed-Beast.**

"**DIE UZUMAKI!"** The Sanbi… or Yagura… or whatever the hell that damned thing was, screamed at him. The Tailed-Beast jumped into the air and rolled itself into a ball crashing into the ground towards Naruto. The sharps protrusions on its back made this attack akin to that of a saw blade.

"Rasengan!" Naruto shouted as he held out his hand and made a rather large 'Rasengan' that he used as a counter to defend himself. The instant the Sanbi's attack struck against his defense it seemed to absorb most of the chakra almost instantly. Though the attack slowed, it showed no signs of stopping as Sanbi continued to roll. The sphere soon grew to human size as Naruto stared in disbelief as this form of defense was quickly being overcome.

"**Stop gawking and get the hell out of the way, you idiots!"**Kurama screamed at him and the others. Following Kurama's advice too late, Naruto jumped back as the Sanbi absorbed the remaining chakra of the 'Rasegan' and bulldozed right over him. Naruto screamed in agony as the shell pounded him into the earth, breaking several of his bones in the process while Minato threw one of his kunai and disappeared in a flash with the others cursing for not grabbing _his own son!_

Naruto writhed in pain on the ground, coughing up large amounts of blood. Many of his ribs had been cracked or broken. The sharps spikes on the Sanbi's back broke through his cloak and caused severe lacerations into his flesh. Naruto was facing major internal bleeding due to being crushed. Minato and the others only watched as the cloak receded back into Naruto's body meaning that the others couldn't keep it up any longer. Naruto looked up to see the fully transformed Sanbi heading west to where the main battle was currently raging.

'A single attack with the Tailed-Beast Ball could easily wreak havoc on the rebel forces and change the tide of battle. I can't let that happen. I won't let that happen!' Ignoring the screaming protests of his devastated muscles, Naruto inched forwards as he crawled on the ground, desperately trying to stand up. He stopped when he saw his father and the others gather around him; instantly the woman set to work on healing him.

"Try not to move as much. I'm not the best at this, but I could at least lessen the pain." Naruto nodded as he looked at the woman. The first thing that he noticed was the purple rectangular marks that were on her cheeks. "Sensei told me that he had a son. I didn't think he meant an exact clone of him." The woman joked as she moved her hands to Naruto's lower back.

"W-who are YOou!?" Naruto shouted as he felt the pain in his back spike before it went away. "What did you mean by 'Sensei'?" The woman smile as she finished with Naruto's back and placed a palm on his chest.

"My name is Rin; Rin Nohara. I used to one of the students that trained under your father." Naruto's eye's widened as he looked at Rin.

"Now I remember you! Kakashi-sensei once told me a story of someone he used to love! You were in that photo that he has hidden in his headband." Naruto said as he looked at Rin. Rin immediately stopped looked at Naruto with wide eyes before she resumed healing him.

"So he kept that photo of me huh?" She asked to no one as Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, he used to say, 'If only I didn't lose focus. Then maybe my hime would still be here.' I didn't know what he meant at the time, but now I understand that he was talking about you." Naruto said as he body felt better. Rin nodded as she looked at Minato and Tobirama signaling that she was done.

"Well, maybe I should show him that I'm still here." Rin said as she stood back, "He's okay enough to move, but fighting is out of the question. Now would anyone care to explain why I'm here in the first place?" Naruto nodded as he looked through his mind and memorized some Wood-style Jutsu that Hashirama had planted yesterday.

"Yeah…I need someone to take Yagura's place as the Sanbi's Jinchūriki." Naruto said as Rin's eyes widened. Naruto seeing it smiled and gave her thumbs up, "If you're worried about being one, don't. Besides, you won't be the only one because of me and imōto back home." Rin calmed down before she nodded at Naruto. Hearing the roar of the Sanbi immediately turned to the two deceased Hokage. "I need you two to see if you can distract him from the main battle."

"On it."

"We'll try our best Naruto." Naruto nodded as he watched the two leave. With the help from Rin, Naruto stood up and started to channel his chakra slowly so he wouldn't get hurt.

'Kaa-chan…Mito-sama, do any of you know how to seal a Tailed-Beast without killing the container?' Naruto asked as he kept his eyes closed.

'_Yes actually I do.'_ Mito responded. _"Your mother passed out from Kurama's chakra, but I'm still here."_

'Well, I want to seal the Sanbi into an adult, but I don't know how to.' Naruto explained as she stood still. While he was talking, Rin noticed Utakata walking up to them while holding his head. Taking a look at Naruto, Rin walked towards Utakata when she was sure that Naruto wouldn't move.

-Inside the Seal-

"_I see, you want to seal the Sanbi into that girl. It won't be easy, but if you let me take over than I should be able to replicate the result like I did with Kurama."_ Mito said as she looked over to her husband that was standing nearby.

"That's great, if I can get the Sanbi into a new body that has a stronger seal, then I could end this war faster." Naruto exclaimed. Hashirama took this time to place a hand on Naruto shoulder catching his attention.

"_Naruto, if you would, could you let me deal with the Sanbi. I have placed some of my own jutsu inside your mind so that you could do them as well. It would be no different than when I faced Madara with Kurama at his side." _Naruto thought about it for a while before he nodded. Laying down next to his mother, who latched onto him like a teddy bear, Naruto watched Hashirama walk away from them.

-Outside the Seal-

Rin was currently healing Utakata's neck before she felt a surge of chakra behind her that came from Naruto. Looking back as Utakata slumped to the ground, Rin's eyes widened as she saw all his injuries and wounds that she could heal…heal up. Taking a look behind, she saw Naruto's eyes were colored different; they had a tint of blue on the edge of his irises followed by a brown color and finished with the edge of his being colored green.

"Rin-san, are you ready?" Naruto asked as he looked at her. Getting a nod, Naruto grabbed her hand and ran towards the Sanbi as he went through some hand-signs.

"Naruto! What's gotten into you!?" Rin asked as Naruto sprinted faster.

"I've let the Shodai take control of my body so he could fight the Sanbi. All my actions are because of him, including the way I'm speaking right now." Rin was still confused, but nodded as she gripped Naruto's hand tighter. Jumping into the air, Naruto raised his fist before he slammed his fist into the ground. _"Wood Style: Forest Destruction!"_ At that, a series of roots burst from the ground and slammed into the Sanbi's face that sent it flying back

The Sanbi froze in mid attack as he looked towards the ground, catching only a glimpse of the attack before it reached him. As Minato and Tobirama looked at Naruto they dispelled and went back into the seal to rest. Naruto only looked at the Sanbi as he simply did a series of hand-signs and slammed his hand into the ground that made the area cave in around the beast.

"Rin-san, stay here and only jump in when I say so." Naruto said as he jumped into the second valley that he created.

- Unnamed Valley (2 Pm) -

Mei smiled as she struck down the last Kiri-nin that was still attacking. Turning around and seeing the rest of her army she was glad that they were all able to save all of the people that were in the valley. Taking note of who was left from the others, Mei was even happier to learn that she had only lost five people total in the battle. As everyone cheered, Mei saw Team 7 walking towards her looking worse for wear.

"I see that you survived as well." Mei joked as she saw them smile. It was when Taki appeared next to them that their smiles dropped.

"Have any of you seen Naruto? I can't find him." Taki said. Just as she finished that statement, the ground shook under everyone's feet. Mei turned around and saw a lot of dust in the air about a mile away from them. Looking at the other, they all nodded as they ran towards the source.

[With Naruto]

Naruto looked on as the Sanbi got up from its position and stared at Naruto. Instantly a figure appeared on the Sanbi and stared at him.

"You know you are becoming quite the nuisance?" The figure asked in a deep voice. Naruto only placed his hands in a Serpant hand-seal and concentrated. Soon the ground shook as large roots were coming from underneath Naruto. Naruto only watched as the roots went after the Sanbi, who retaliated by swinging its tails at the roots. As soon as the roots wrapped around leg it's only visible eye shot open.

Naruto noticed this as he saw the Sanbi let out a roar that sent out a shockwave towards the encroaching roots. Naruto ducked a bit as the shattered remains of the roots were flying behind him. Taking a look Naruto saw that the Sanbi's eye had the design of the Sharigan with three tomoe in them and looked back at the figure.

[With the Others]

Mei, Ao, Kakashi, Taki, Sasuke and Hinata all arrived at the edge of the newly made valley as the roots Naruto created started to rise. Everyone was speechless as they saw the roots attack the Sanbi with Naruto just standing on top of it. What shock everyone, Kakashi and Sasuke the most, was the fact that the Sanbi had the Sharingan design in its only visible eye.

"Kakashi? Kakashi! Over Here!" Everyone turned to the new voice as Kakashi's eye widened even more at who called him. Running towards them was…

"Rin?" Kakashi asked as she stopped in front of him. Rin nodded before she looked at the battle going on just to see the Sanbi let out a roar to destroy the roots. Everyone also saw it and began to worry what Naruto was doing with going up against a Tailed-Beast.

"Does anyone some weapons to give Naruto? It looks like he's going to need it." Just as Rin asked this, Zabuza appeared with a large scroll in his hands.

"Gotcha covered girly." Zabuza said as he prepared to chuck the scroll. "Hey Gaki! Catch this and don't lose them!" Zabuza shouted as she hurled the scroll towards Naruto. Everyone watched as one of the roots caught the scroll and began to head towards Naruto.

[With Naruto]

Naruto looked to his left to see one of the roots carrying a scroll towards him. Naruto sent another set of roots towards the Sanbi as he grabbed the scroll and unrolled it. Placing it on the ground as the Sanbi used another roar to destroy the roots, Naruto saw that it had the Kanji for the numbers 1-7 printed on it. Unsealing it, Naruto was surprised that four of the Seven Swordsmans' weapons appeared on the scroll. Realizing what he had Naruto quickly pulled out the swords and set them into the root he was standing on.

The Sanbi instantly charged using its tails to destroy the roots that were sent towards it. Naruto simple held the Kubikiribōchō in his hands as he saw the Sanbi roar yet again. Naruto jumped as he saw the figure jump off the Sanbi head while unseal in a sythe and a battle-fan.

-Inside the Seal-

Mito was have a sense of déjà vu as she saw the two going at it. While it was happening on the outside with Naruto, inside the seal Hashirama was the one doing the fighting since he was controlling Naruto's actions. Mito also stole a glance as everyone else was lying on the ground tired from what was happening.

-Outside the Seal-

Naruto and the figure clashed weapons as Naruto threw some shuriken at the figure only for them to block it with the battle-fan and send it back. Naruto did a half hand-seal for a root to come up and block the returning shuriken. Naruto jumped quickly as one of the Sanbi's tails broke through the root he was on and continued to fend off the attacking roots. The two clashed weapons again and again while jumping from roots-to-roots.

Eventually, the Sanbi let out a roar to destroy the roots again while Naruto and the figure jumped back. They were lucky to do that because the root they were on was destroyed from the roar's shockwave. Naruto landed on the root he started on as he clapped his hands; the figure landed on another root and watched before his eye widened from seeing a Fuma shuriken come flying at him. He was able to block it along with the other swords that came towards him with ease.

He didn't counter all of them as he was struck with the Kubikiribōchō on the shoulder. Naruto watched as the man's arm fell off while oozing out a white substance and saw him hold his shoulder.

"Go Sanbi!" The man shouted as the he landed on top of the Sanbi's head. Naruto watched as the Sanbi created a small black ball before it ate it. On the edge of the dome, Mei's eyes widened when she saw what was going to happen. "Tailed-Beast Bomb!" Everyone's eyes widened as the Sanbi opened its mouth and had the ball appear again big slightly bigger before it shot out towards Naruto.

Naruto placed his hand in a serpent hand-seal again as he saw the attack coming straight at him. On the edge of the valley, everyone was shocked as dome of wood appeared around Naruto in a dome like fashion. What everyone saw was more amazing as the done being able to handle the attack as it pushed it over and sent it behind the dome. Everyone looked on in awe as the attack kept going until it hit what seemed to be a body of water, it the giant ass splash was any indication.

Naruto did the one hand-sign again that caused pillars of roots shot out and wrap around the Sanbi. As soon as he saw the Tailed-Beast was contained, Naruto jumped out of the now destroyed dome and started a series of hand-signs.

"Hokage Style Elder Jutsu: Tenth Edict on Enlightenment!" Naruto shouted as he stretched out his hand and placed it onto the Sanbi's shell placing a seal. As Naruto jumped away, Large wooden pillars appeared and started to cover the Sanbi as it went into its shell to protect itself. As Naruto landed he jumped out of the way to avoid a sythe that slammed into his position. Naruto outstretched his other hand as wood shot out from his fingertips and wrapped around the masked figure.

"You wretched little Shit!" The figure shouted as Naruto placed his other hand on him and connected the seals to cut the connection off the Sanbi. Naruto looked up to see the Sharingan design begin to disappear from the Sanbi's eyes before it began to shrink down. The figure let out a laugh before he disappeared and reappeared with Yagura's body in his arm. "It seems that you want to send this…very well. It ends here!" The figure shouted as they threw Yagura into the air and sliced him in half as he fell down.

"_Naruto! Now's the time, get that girl in here and let me take control!"_ Mito shouted as Naruto shook his head to take control back from Hashirama.

"RIN NOW!" Naruto shouted as Rin jumped into the valley with Kakashi and Zabuza following with the latter breaking off to get the other swords. As Rin closed in, Mito took over and started to do a long series of hand-signs. The figure tried to attack, but Kakashi was there in an instant.

"Lightning Blade!" The figure was impaled, but jumped back as more white substance oozed from his new wound. Naruto landed on the last hand-seal and placed a hand on Rin's stomach as he sent a clone out to catch Yagura's body. Bringing it back to the original, Naruto slammed his other hand into Yagura's skull.

"Forbidden Sacred Uzumaki Art: Rest of the Tailed-Beast." Naruto shouted. Everyone else arrived to see a blinding light envelope the three bodies as Kakashi covered his eyes since he was closest. When the light died down, Everyone saw Rin unconscious next to a heavily panting Naruto; but everyone turned their attention to the laughing figure that stood from them.

"Impressive, you're just like sensei. It's just like you to mess up a plan Uzumaki or should I say…_Namikaze_." Everyone's eyes widen as the figure disappeared in a vortex. Just as Naruto got up, they heard another laugh coming from behind them. As they turned their head, those from Kiri widened their eyes at who stood there; a tall man with pale blue skin, fish-like eyes and markings that looked like gills under those eyes. As the man saw Naruto kneeling, he smiled revealing sharp shark teeth akin to those of Zabuza and Chojuro.

"Hoshigaki Kisame," Mei commented, recognizing the man instantly. "Also named the 'Monster of the Hidden Mist' and wielder of the infamous 'Samehada'. What are you doing here?" It wasn't surprising that the man would be here. Kisame was one of the few remaining members of the Seven Swordsmen after all. But it was his appearance that alarmed everyone; instead of the standard Kirigakure flak-vest and garb that most _Jōnin_ of Kiri wore, Kisame had instead chosen to wear a black cloak decorated with red clouds. His forehead protector had a long, horizontal scratch carved across the symbol his village. Everyone there knew that it was a traditional method for Missing-nins to show they had rescinded their allegiances and rejected their villages.

"What the hell was going on?" Naruto asked as Kisame grin widened even further.

"Well, well still the same as ever Mei-chan." He snorted. "I'm here to collect on Yagura's tenant seeing as he bit the dust thanks to that kid." Naruto stood up and walked to in front with his hands on his Kodachi. "You're way out of your mind if you think you can beat me, especially in your condition. I'd rather not have to kill an already half-dead twelve-year old." Naruto snarled as he leapt forward and swung his Kodachi down on the fished faced swordsman. Kisame smirked. "Well, I guess you're not as smart as I thought you were."

He swung Samehada off of his back a brought it to bear against the blade effortlessly blocking the attack and they stood in the deadlock for several moments. To Naruto's shock however, the Samehada started to squirm before it was maneuvered around and flung his blade out of his hand. Now empty handed, Naruto ducked as the giant bandaged cleaver passed over his head and jumped back to his original position. Standing up, Naruto glared at Kisame as the others watched, only the adults seeing what was happening, but unable to jump in to help because it saw going to fast.

"Your oversized fish stick absorbs chakra doesn't it?" he asked flatly, already knowing the answer.

"Yep." Kisame answered. "You figured that out pretty quickly. If I didn't know any better I'd say your almost out of chakra." Naruto didn't answer turning Kisame's smirk downright feral. "You're fucked." Kisame moved in a blur, crossing the gap between them in an instant. Naruto dodged to the left but Kisame proved his skill with the sword and shifted his grip at the very last second, swinging the Samehada directly at Naruto. The sword cleaved large chunks of flesh right off of Naruto's right arm, tearing through his skin like butter. "Samehada doesn't cut." Kisame told the blonde who was now convulsing on the ground in pain. "It shaves you to ribbons!" He lifted his cleaver off of his shoulder and raised it up into the air for a final strike. "This is the end, brat. You brought this upon yourself."

"Ameratsu!" Kisame jumped back as black flames separated him from Naruto. In less than an instant Itachi, dressed in the same uniform as Kisame, landed in front of Naruto putting himself in between the two. Everyone's eye's widened as seeing him here, but watched at what happened; Zabuza soon jumped and tried to cleave Itachi in half, but watched as he dispersed into crow.

"Well, if it isn't the Demon of the Bloody Mist, Zabuza Momochi. How's Ameyuri doing there buddy?" Kisame commented with amusement. "Looks like I get to meet a lot of interesting people today."

"Kisame," Itachi returned pointedly. "You will not lay a hand on this boy. We are only heare for Yagura's Tailed-Beast, but from what I've seen we're too late. I suggest we leave while we still can." In any other circumstances, Itachi would have taken his chances and tried to take Naruto and Rin. However, his main priority right now was getting the Sanbi, but with all these high level people around he couldn't risk it. That was until he saw someone in the group that was staring right back. "Sasuke…" Sasuke didn't say anything as he saw Itachi and Kisame walk away from the group. "…you still haven't hated me otōto. You will never beat me it you can't fester your hatred."

"I have no hatred for you only pity. No one need hatred towards them." Sasuke said as Itachi let a little smile grace his face

"Kisame we're leaving." Sasuke visibly relaxed and gave his older brother a weak smile.

"Itachi-nii-san, just in case I don't have a chance to say this later…thank you." Kisame frowned but let a smirk cross his face.

"Say hello to Mrs Momochi for me, eh Zabuza?" With that the two left the area. No one said anything until Naruto let out a violent cough come up. Naruto was suffering from a severe wound so it would only be a matter of time before he died of blood loss. Fighting Kisame only wasted their time and placed Naruto in further danger. Taki instantly ran towards him and began to wrap his arm to stop the blood as everyone began to move again. Naruto closed his eyes, exhaustion washing over him as he fell into a deep sleep. Now that he thought about it, it felt like days since he had last slept. With that Mei and Taki carried Naruto on a makeshift stretcher while Kakashi carried Rin bridal style.

- Kirigakure {Five days Later} -

Team 7 sat in the waiting room of the hospital outside of the recovery room where Naruto was still unconscious, healing from his wounds. By the time they had brought Naruto to the nearest medical station, he barely enough blood to sustain a small dog that was underfed.

'It was miracle he managed to survive it at all.' Kakashi thought. With him was Rin who was holding his hand to calm him down. Mei, Zabuza, Ao, and Chōjūrō all left to have Mei become the new Mizukage. Taki went around to check some things that she wouldn't tell anyone.

Kakashi was worried about Naruto seeing as no one was able to see him for that past five days; he had calmed down a bit when he saw Rin, exit the rooms good as new since she only needed to rest from whatever happened to her. Sasuke and Hinata were no better off, they both looked sleep deprived as they stared at the door leading to Naruto's room.

"D-do y-you think t-that N-N-Naruto-kun w-will p-pull t-through?" Hinata asked Sasuke, her stutter coming back at the thought of losing Naruto. Sasuke gritted his teeth as he punched the wall.

"That idiot better pull through…" Sasuke said as he looked at everyone else. Everyone looked as the doors opened and a nurse poked her head out.

"We can now allow you to visit Naruto-san. If one of you would like, you can stay the night with him." She said as she left to tend to other patients. Kakashi looked at the others before he nodded and went into the room.

-Inside Naruto's Seal-

Naruto was currently sleeping in his mother lap as she was singing to him. Looking around, Kushina smiled at how the place looked; it was like she was back in Konoha under a tree. Off to the side Minato, Tobirama, and Hashirama were all talking about the battle. Nearby, Mito and Kurama were discussing all of the things that Naruto should do so he could access her chakra without it harming him.

"…More ramen please…" Naruto mumbled as he shifted in Kushina's lap. Smiling, Kushina lightly scratched the whiskers on Naruto's face and giggled as Naruto let out a soft purr from the enticing action. Kushina looked at her wrist and saw that the number that was printed on it had lowered from 900 down to 523 showing how many souls Naruto needed before he could bring her or Minato back to life.

'_It's amazing that he's getting so much in a year.'_ Kushina thought as she resumed scratching Naruto's face. _'It won't take you long to get the final sight Musuko…just a little longer…'_

- Outside the Seal {Next Morning} -

Naruto slowly awoke from his rest as he looked around He checked his surroundings to find himself in a hospital bed, most likely somewhere inside a hospital. His wound had been cleaned and bandaged. His ripped and ragged clothes were gone instead replaced by a hospital gown. Oddly as he looked to his left, he was surprised to see Midnight hair resting on his sheets.

'It looks like Hinata-chan fell asleep by my bed, but why was she crying?' Naruto thought as he saw tear stains that were still visible on her face. Naruto sighed, resting his head against both his hands…what was he really fighting for? Why was he fighting so hard? He spent several moments in silence dwelling on that question. After a while he leaned back and sighed in sorrowed resignation. The sound stirred Hinata awake from her sleep.

"Naruto-kun?" she muttered, blinking at him sleepily. She looked up, dazed and disoriented as she looked around before spotting Naruto, her eyes widening at seeing him awake. "Naruto-Kun! You're awake!" With that cry she launched herself at the blonde, wrapping him up in an embrace. Naruto smiled when he felt the hug tighten as she let out more tears. Taking a hand, Naruto wiped a thumb over her cheek to get the tears.

"You shouldn't cry Hinata-chan…it doesn't suit you." Naruto said calmly as Hinata blushed. Before he could ask any questions, the door behind her creaked open and Kakashi popped his head in to see what the commotion was about. Seeing Naruto conscious he gave him an eye smile.

"Ah, good you're awake. You've been out for six days. I'm glad to see you're alright." Naruto didn't bother looking up as he stared at Hinata. Kakashi's smile faltered before his expression turned serious. "Naruto we need to talk." Naruto only sighed and nodded before he tapped Hinata's shoulder

"Hinata-chan…could you please get off of me?" Naruto asked as Hinata blushed red and let go of Naruto. As that was happening, Sasuke, Taki and the others all started to pile into the room. "I guess there's no hiding it is there? Do I have to tell them my secret to eating ramen too?" Naruto joked as he sat up on his bed.

"Naruto please, this is serious." Kakashji told him. "Everyone wants to know what the hell happened in that Valley, also…how were you able to manipulate the roots the entire time in the fight?" Kakashi asked as everyone leaned in to hear Naruto explain himself.

"*sigh*There's no way of getting out of this is there?" Naruto asked as he saw a round of nods confirming his questions. "Alright but…it's better it I just show you." Naruto said as he closed his eyes and opened them again. Everyone's eye widened a bit, except for Mei's and Kakashi's, as they stared at the design of a windmill in Naruto's eyes. While they staring at Naruto's eyes, said blonde went through some hand-signs before he leaned over and placed his hand on the floor.

"Naruto…are you sure?" Kakashi asked as he saw the seal run down Naruto's arms and spread out into the room. Looking around, everyone was a little shocked to see Konoha behind Naruto as noticed they Naruto was gone.

-Inside the Seal-

"_Hello there, we weren't expecting company."_ Everyone turned around before their eyes widened as the two who were standing there. Mei was the first to recover and walked up to the woman that had her hair in buns and three clips.

"Uh…excuse me, but…who are you?" The woman smiled as Hashirama walked behind her along with Tobirama.

"_Oh, forgive me. My name is Mito, Mito Uzumaki; the Shodai Hokage's wife."_ Everyone's eyes widened as they heard that before they looked at the two men behind her. Instantly those that weren't from Konoha…fainted on the spot at meeting the Shodai and the Nidaime Hokages. Hinata was too busy on the people that Naruto was with to care about the others and walked up to them with Sasuke.

"Excuse me…would it be too much to ask for your name?" Hinata asked as Kushina and Minato smiled.

"_Of course, my name is Kushina Uzumaki."_ Kushina said as Minato stepped forward

"_And my name is Minato Namikaze."_ Both of them held their hands together.

"_We're Naruto's birthparents."_ They said at the same time shocking the two Genin. Kushina giggled at their reactions before she looked at them.

"_I'm guessing that you must be Hinata, Himikoto and Hiashi's daughter…" _Kushina said as she pointed to Hinata. Getting a nod in response, Kushina pointed her finger towards Sasuke, _"…and that means you must be Sasuke, Mikoto and Fugaku's son."_

"How…?" Sasuke asked as she watched the two in front of him while stealing a look at Naruto sleeping in Kushina's lap.

"_The three of us were the best of friends before I passed on…"_ Kushina said as she trailed off, _"I must ask, how they doing?"_ Instantly, saw Hinata's expression fall while Sasuke was thinking about it.

"M-my k-kaa-chan died…when I-I was three…" Hinata whispered, but Kushina caught it. "I-it was three m-months a-after H-Hanabi's birth…" Hinata said as tears began to fall from her face. She soon felt a hand being placed on her shoulder. Seeing Kushina there, Hinata looked back to see the original still sitting where she was petting Naruto's whiskers.

"My mother's alive, a little weathered from certain events…" Sasuke said as he sat on the ground. Kushina nodded as she looked down to see Naruto waking up; as soon as his eyes were opened, Kushina decided to ask the question that been bugging her. Looking at the two, she smiled as she got up and dusted herself off.

"_So did your father tell you two about your engagement to each other? I can already hear the wedding bells…"_ Kushina said as she looked into the sky with a faraway look in her eyes. Everyone heard that and looked at the two Genin. Everything was silent for a good 5 minutes before both of them shouted one word.

"What!?" The two then proceeded to faint. Rin finally noticed one thing and walked over the group with a smile.

"Nice to see you again…Minato-sensei."

A/N: There we go…this actually took a while to write because it took just over 10,000 words for this chapter alone. How did you like it? I thought I would add some surprises in there for fun. Also I will explain a lot of the holes in the next few chapters such as Rin being older, Naruto's cloak and others.

Up next: Nagotiations, Returning to Konoha, and the news of the Chūnin Exams announcement.

New Poll is up


	37. Returning Home

A/N: This chapter.

"Human Talking"  
'Human Thinking/Connection Talk'  
"Jutsu/Technique"  
_Mindscape/Flashback  
_**"Demon/Summon Speaking"  
'Demon/Summon thinking'**

-Mizukage Tower-

Naruto was currently leaning against Sasuke as they looked at Mei in her seat. When they entered his seal and to a further extent, his mind, everyone on his team or who knew him were filled in on what was happening. From Naruto's eyes down to his contact with the Shinigami were all revealed with only the abilities that were given to him by said Death God being kept in the dark. With that all of the out of the way, the others seem to connect with Naruto even better than before and seemed to trust him with everything they have.

"Now this agreement between us is simple: we hereby give you the Jinchūriki of the Sanbi as an offer of alliance to Konoha in exchange for military support and trade agreements. Futhermore, we also relinquish the remaining five swords of the Seven Swordsman." Mei said as she looked at the group in front of her. Zabuza had the scroll containing the swords hefted over his shoulder, Sasuke and Hinata were looking over the teams supplies, Kakashi was looking everyone over, Haku and Naruto both had their masks on to hid their faces…both for a different reason; Haku to escape the onslaught of women and girls that seemed to follow him and Naruto because his face mask was destroyed in the battle against Yagura.

"Those seem to be acceptable request and offerings." Kakashi said as he turned his head to eye smile. Mei nodded as she also motioned her hand forward to which Ao had stepped forward and produced a scroll that he handed to Naruto as well as a container that held a spherical object inside some liquid. "With the idea of you using my lava style and my corrosion style, the Jutsu in that scroll is everything that I know and use often." Mei said as Naruto nodded and watched Ao hand the container over to Hinata. The Hyūga heiress screamed her head off and threw the container into the air. Taking a look at it when he caught it, Naruto saw that the spherical object was in fact an eyeball…an eyeball of a Hyūga to be more precise.

"Where did you get an eye of the Hyūga clan?" Naruto asked as Kakashi's eye widened before it narrowed at Ao. Mei put her hand in defense and waved them off.

"Ao found a Hyūga, that was apparently a missing-nin, dead in a cave with one of his eyes crushed in his own hands and other hidden under his body in that container. We took the body hoping that we could give it to a passing Konoha-nin, but one of our medics took it upon himself to implant it into Ao's head. We've since killed him off and had another to take the eye out; unfortunately the war cascaded into a mess and we couldn't find the time to have the eye removed until now." Mei explained as Kakashi loosened up his posture.

"Alright…now why didn't you tell us when we first arrived?" Naruto asked. "It would've given us a heads-up on the situation we're in now."

"If we had spoken about it there would be no chance that you would've continued to help us." Mei countered as Naruto shook his head.

"My team may have, but I would have still stayed because of him." Naruto said as he jerked his thumb towards Zabuza. "If I had went back to Konoha without that idiot and Haku, I would've had my head chewed off by his wife. Furthermore, when we first arrived, we had a hard time navigating the mist without him and the same result would happen if we left. That would've led us to being captured by Yagura and led us to being questioned." Naruto said as Mei saw what he was saying.

"If Yagura found out that Konoha had been a part of the Rebellion then it would also spark an international question of Konoha's intentions with the other nations." Kakashi said turning a page in his orange book.

"This would've made Konoha's reputation fall and have the four of us targeted for being caught, if not outright executed, by Yagura beforehand. Either way, as soon as we stepped into Water Country we would have had no way to turn back with Yagura's men checking out any ships that were leaving the harbor." Sasuke added. Mei looked at them in wonderment at their political skills.

'They must have read about and observed these kinds of things…yeah that's it.' Mei thought, but both seem to read her mind.

"No we did read or observe these kinds of things. It comes to us naturally and we just go with it." Sasuke said as Mei simply placed her head down.

"To think, two mere Genin are more experienced at politics than me, I can never live this down…" Mei said as she kept her head down.

"Well Mei, I mean Mizukage…We'll be heading back home now." Kakashi said as everyone nodded and turned towards the door.

"Oh Team 7…" Mei said making everyone look at her. "…be prepared for the _Chūnin_ Exams…because Kiri will be coming to test the leaf in its waters. And Naruto…take care." Mei finished which got Naruto to give her a thumb up, Sasuke to smirk while Hinata bowed to her. Kakashi saluted at her as they left the room and headed back to Konoha.

- Road to Konoha {The Next Day} -

It had been a whole day of running before Team 7 decided that walking home would be okay for the rest of the day since they would reach the gates by morning at the latest. Naruto was talking to his parents, Sasuke was reading techniques on the lightning jutsu, Hinata was looking at the eyeball in the container, and Kakashi was reading his book. With the others, Rin was talking to Taki about healing salves while Zabuza and Haku were practicing hand-signs for a few water techniques.

'Hey Kaa-chan, Tou-chan…'

"_Yes Naruto?"_

'What happened in the battle with Yagura…I mean when we first started. I everything went by so fast I couldn't remember anything except for what I said.' Naruto asked recalling the blue transparent cloak that surrounded him.

"_To be honest Musuko…we don't know what happened either. All I knew was that I was filtering out the hatred from Kurama's chakra. Mito-sama was also doing that, but she had better control on it than I did."_ Kushina replied as Minato nodded in agreement.

'But do any of you know what I did and how I did it?' Mito took this time to walk up and join in the conversation.

"_I could answer that Naruto. You see when you connected with Kurama's chakra after it was purified of its taint; you also tapped into the inner power that some rarely ever do."_ Mito explained. _"The only ones that I've known to tap into that type of chakra were my husband and Hiru-chan's students."_

'Hiru-chan?' Naruto asked feeling that his gut would burst open when he heard the answer.

"_If I am correct, that would be the Sandaime." _Mito said as Naruto burst out laughing and fell on the ground; he wasn't the only one as Minato and Kushina also did that and were lying on the ground. Everyone on the outside were looking at him as he was holding his sides and wiggling on the floor before they got curious.

"Uh…Naruto? Something you want to share with us?" Kakashi asked as he looked at his student. Naruto got up and looked at the others with tears in his eyes.

"Mito-sama…calls…the Sandaime…H…Hi….Hiru-chan!" Naruto shouted out between breaths. It took a good 10 seconds for the others to realize what Naruto said before they all burst out laughing like Naruto did.

- Konoha (Hokage Tower) -

Hiruzen was doing a mound of paperwork that was as big as the other pile of his completed work.

"Why do suddenly have a feeling to smack Naruto-kun on the head and shout out Mito-sama's name?" Hiruzen asked as he was finishing a piece of paper. Suddenly without warning, the wise old man let out a large sneeze that blew both the piles of paperwork all over the room. Upon seeing the mess that he created, Hiruzen simply banged his head against his table while he cried anime tears.

In the corner, a certain Neko ANBU was filming all of this and giggling at the unfortunate Kage.

-Road to Konoha-

Naruto was still laughing at the Sandiame's nickname but kept it to himself as he continued to talk with Mito.

'Ah sorry about that Mito-sama…please continue.' Naruto thought as he cleared his eyes of tears. Mito only nodded as she took on a look of thinking.

"_As I was saying, only my husband and Hiru-chan's students were able to gain and use that special type of chakra. It is one of the few things that a Tailed-Beast is unable to counter…now that I think of it your mother's chains have that trait as well." _Mito said look at Kushina. Naruto thought about it with Kushina as Minato's eyes widened up realization of what Naruto could use.

"_It seems that young Minato has figured it out."_ Tobirama said seeing Minato's expression. Mito and Hashirama, who was sleeping, both saw him and let out a chuckle and giggle at seeing him.

"_Would you like to tell the rest of your family what it is Minato?" _Mito asked. Minato nodded numbly and looked at his wife before he sat down. Naruto was listening carefully to hear what his father had to say and didn't notice the tree that popped out in front of him.

"You alright Naruto?" Sasuke asked upon seeing Naruto go face first into the tree. Looking around, Naruto saw that the trail they were walking on started turn which in turn led him to walk right into the tree.

"Yeah yeah I'm alright. Just, talking with the folks." Naruto said a little embarrassed. Getting up and walking with others, Naruto listened on to the converstion.

"…_and that's why I believe that Naruto can use it."_ Minato finished _"Did you get that Naruto?"_

'Uh…no...' Naruto thought. Mito nodded knowing that Naruto ran into the tree and was therefore distracted from the converstion.

"_It is easy Naruto. We believe that that you could use Senjutsu or Sage Chakra…"_

'Senjutsu?'

"_Yes Senjutsu. Senjutsu practitioners learn to draw the energy of nature inside of them, blending it with their own chakra. This adds a new dimension of power to a person's chakra, resulting in the creation of 'Senjutsu chakra'. This chakra cannot be seen by anyone other than those who have been trained in Senjutsu; and this new chakra enables the user to enter an empowered state called Sage Mode, which can then drastically increase the strength of all ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu."_ Mito explained getting a nod from Naruto. Minato decided to pick up the rest of the pieces.

"_A person who is able to use senjutsu is called a sage or sennin. There are many ways to learn Senjutsu but currently, there are two __**known**__ ways to learn Senjutsu: One being to learn from the toads of Mount Myōboku as Jiraiya-sensei has done…_

"…_and the other form of learning is from the snakes from the Ryūchi Cave." _Mito said._ "A third form of senjutsu is also known and used by Hashirama. Unlike previous methods, he doesn't display any animal traits that would come from learning from the toads or snakes."_

'I see…' Naruto thought.

"_From what we've seen, when filtered, Kurama's chakra becomes something like Natural Energy that molded to your chakra and blended it perfectly. That was the increase in power that you've felt when it first hit you. It made it so that you created that cloak and rather large __'Rasengan'__ during the fight."_

"_**It could be true. The Sage of Six Paths did create us out of the Ten-tails body and used Natural Energy to create our forms."**_ Kurama said as she woke up from her nap. _**"Without the hatred that I accumulated it turned back to what it once was. That hatred may have overpowered the Natural Chakra and made mine more demonic from the others."**_

'Okay, how do I master this 'Senjutsu' anyway?' Naruto asked as he turned with the road.

"_According to Fukasaku, only those who already possess "extreme chakra levels" can utilise natural energy to invoke senjutsu."_ Minato said as he scratched his chin. _"If I remember from those lessons; the user is required to balance his or her physical and spiritual energy with the natural energy he or she gathers from nature"_

'So it's like adding an extra flavor to a chocolate and vanilla swirl ice cream? If the user puts too little natural energy into using senjutsu, the technique will not work and if it's too much, then it could be harmful.' Naruto said as he looked up to see Konoha in the distance as well as the sky brightening. 'huh…didn't know that we were walking that whole time.'

"_Yes Naruto, however, while gathering natural energy, the gatherer must remain absolutely still in order to be one with nature. Those that train under the toads can use special toad oil that allows the natural energy to enter their body, but this oil only exists in liquid form in Mount Myōboku's atmosphere. The oil evaporates if it is taken outside, thus rendering it useful only for learning purposes." _Minato said as he looked to see only Mito and Kurama awake with him._ "If the user takes in too much natural energy, they will eventually turn to stone. I remember that there were petrified remains of one-time apprentice Sages who failed to master senjutsu are spread throughout Mount Myōboku."_

'Does that mean you can use Senjutsu Tou-chan?' Naruto asked.

"_Yes and no Naruto. Yes in a sense that I can gather Natural Energy, but no since I can't mold it to my chakra." _Minato said. Naruto nodded at the group walked up to the gates. Everyone let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the village and smiled at the two _Chūnin as they walked passed them and into the village. Looking around Naruto was happy to be back after he had been sent out through two missions that were outside the village._

"Ah…it's good to be back home." Naruto said as the others, minus Taki, nodded at that statement…until they notice ANBU crying and look up to see the Hokage Monument with the Sandaime Hokage's face with its nose dripping blood while his eyes looking at a painted Icha Icha book. The other three Hokages had a sweatdrop on their face while looking at Hiruzen and Minato's added bonus of having whisker marks on each side of his face.

Everyone looked at the monument before they saw the ANBU starting to look for the perpetrator of the heinous crime done to the pride of Konoha. Everyone was confused on who could do such a thing…but Naruto only hung his head at seeing a flash of green appearing on a roof near the Hokage Momument.

"You think you could do the report without me for bit you guys?" Naruto asked as they looked at him questionably. "I have to take care of a little 'bug' problem that just came up." Seeing what he meant everyone nodded and started to walk off as Naruto jumped onto the roofs and started to look for the squad of ninja that would be forming. Spotting them, Naruto pulled out a small stopwatch and started it as he followed the group.

-Hokage's Office-

Hiruzen was currently sitting in his chair as his secretary place a 2 foot thick pile of paperwork next to him. Letting out a tired sigh, Hiruzen started on the bane of all Kages within the Elemantal Nations. Just as he was about to write the first word a knock on the door interrupted his rather short-lived work.

'Minato…I wish you were still here to do this.' Hiruzen thought as he looked out the window and saw the Hokage Monument painted. Seeing the theme this year, Hiruzen let his head slam against the table. 'It seems Fū-chan has decided to take up Naruto-kun's work…I'm getting too old for this shi-' Hiruzen didn't finish that statement as Team 7 stepped into his office with Zabuza, Haku and Taki.

"Uh…Team 7 reporting a 'Mission Accomplished' Hokage-sama." Kakashi said as he looked at his book. Seeing the missing Genin, Hiruzen raised an eyebrow that Kakashi saw over the rim of his book. "Oh right, Naruto went to take care of a 'bug' problem that had come up." Getting the meaning behind that phrase, Hiruzen pushed his paperwork off the side and nodded at them.

"Very well, report."

- Streets/Rooftops of Konoha {1 Hr & 30 Min Earlier} -

_Fū Uzumaki was having a wonderful morning, today was the day the academy was starting and she got up bright and early just for that occasion. Unfortunately she also wanted a gift for everyone to see when they woke up. With that in mind, the mint-haired 11 year old set out to a little shed, that she and Naruto made in the trees to hide any and all evidence, to collect what she needed._

_{15 Minutes Later}_

_With the buckets of paint on hand, __Fū walked through the village with little problem that she would get if it were any later in the day. Walking up to Hokage Monument, she set the paints on the head of the Yodaime and began bring out yellow paint. Getting a brush, the little trouble maker of Anko Mitarashi-Uzumaki set to work on coloring the head of her bog brother's idol._

_{30 Minutes Later}_

_Fū looked up to see the sun starting to peak just over the horizon._

'_Oh no! I need more time!'__ Fū__ thought as she finished with the blood dripping details of the Sandaime and started on the Nidaime. She didn't even notice the Neko ANBU watching her the whole time filming her actions._

_{45 Minutes Later}_

_Looking at her work, __Fū let out a satisfied sigh. It was exactly how she imagined it: the Sandaime looking at a picture of what her Oji-san Kakashi read was there followed by the old man having a bloody nose from reading it. Looking at the other heads she nodded in acceptance at seeing them sweat-dropping at the Sandaime._

"_Oh! One last thing for the Yondaime!" __Fū said as she ran up the man's face with black paint and added the finishing touches. As she got back to her original spot she smiled at seeing that the Yondaime had three whisker marks on each side of his cheek._

'_Hmm, the Yondaime looks a little like Nii-san.' Fū thought before a cough brought her out of her thoughts._

"_Ahem…you do know that you have to clean that up before the academy starts right Fū?" Fū looked at the one who was talking to her and let out a yelp at seeing her._

"_Neko-Oba-chan! I, I, I…this isn't what it looks like!" Fū said as she raised her paint colored hands in defense. The ANBU raised her eyebrow behind her mask and looked at Fū._

"_Really?" The ANBU asked as Fū nodded, "…because that paint on your hands says otherwise." Fū opened her eyes noticed her hands before she quickly hid them behind her back while sweating. "And this video of you painting isn't going to help with your mother." Fū looked up to see the ANBU waving a camera in their hands as Fū tried to reach out and grab it. The ANBU simply leaned towards Fū and stared at her for a minute. "1…2…3…4…5…" Fū immediately took the hint and dashed away from the ANBU. The ANBU simply chuckled before others appeared around her and watched the girl run away._

"_Man this is the 23__rd__ time you've done this, this month Neko. You should just take her to Anko and let her deal with her…" One of the other ANBU whined._

"_I should…but then what or who would I have to bet this money against to catch her first." The Neko ANBU said as she held up a roll of money to the others. Soon a hat was produced before the money was placed in and put somewhere no one would get it. "You all know the rules: wait 15 minutes, make a big fuss about it, and make sure that you have her." The others nodded as they crouched low._

"_Tenzō we need you to count it off.__" Another ANBU appeared wearing a cat mask that had additional green markings and looked at them._

"_You know that you all are idiots right?" The ANBU identified as __Tenzō said._

"_Just count it off." Neko said._

"_Alright, alright; Ichi…Ni…San!" At that the other ANBU disappeared leaving the one ANBU alone on the Sandaime's stone head. "Tch…idiots…"_

- Streets/Rooftops of Konoha {Present} -

Sonic Adventure 2-Escape From the City

Fū was happily running from the massive squad of 15 ANBU that were on her trail as she ran throughout the entire village. It was one of the things that she and Naruto used to do when they went to the academy together and fooled around with one another at lunch. Running from them was still fun, but it lacked that adrenaline she had with Naruto as they jumped over roofs and slid down hills in an endless chase.

"Stop running Fū!" yelled one of the ANBU as they made a grab for the girl until she did a 90 degree turn and made him slam into the wall. Laughing at all of them, she missed the yellow haired boy that was watching her a few rooftops away. Making another turn Fū let out a loud laugh at seeing the ANBU being covered in her brother's paint tags he made when he was practicing his sealing.

"Catch of me if you can!" Fū mocked as she looked behind her and threw a few more tags at the walls before they exploded into smoke to cover her tracks. She would've run, but she used that time to set up some Ninja wire before she continued her…fun. Seeing that her work was done she walked a good distance away and stood there before the ANBU ran there and got caught up in the wire. "Watch out for spiders!"

"FŪ!" The ANBU shouted as Fū ran away from them. It was then that she noticed that only 5 ANBU were still chasing her; thinking that it was enough Fū ran forward with all her might and turned the corner. The ANBU all turned the corner and saw that she disappeared.

"Spread out and find her!" The leader said as everyone in different directions. If they checked hard enough, they would've seen her peel away the wall and smile in the directions that the ANBU ran.

-Song End-

"…and they call themselves the best." Fū giggled out before she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking at hand and following it to the owner, Fū's breath caught in her throat as she looked at the Sun-kissed blonde that was looking at her with a smile. "N-nii-san?" Naruto only looked at her before he smiled again. Before he could even react, Fū tackled Naruto to the ground and snuggled into his shirt with a large smile on her face.

"Nice to see you too." Naruto said as he looked up to see someone standing there. "Hey Neko." Instantly Fū paled and stood back up as Naruto dusted himself off.

"Nice to see you to Naruto. Here for good this time?" Neko joked knowing that Naruto had left on an S-ranked mission for the past month. Naruto nodded at her and looked at Fū who was cowering behind her. "Now, if you don't mind I'll be taking her off your hands." Naruto shook his head and held out his hand making Neko raise an eyebrow behind her mask.

"You know the rules: Wait 15 minutes, make a big fuss about it, and make sure you have her." Naruto quoted as he held out his hand still. With the other, he pulled out the stopwatch and showed that it was beyond 15 minutes. "I never heard you yell at her or pointer her out at all…"

"Neither have you." Neko countered but Naruto only waved a finger at her.

"Who do think was shouting at her and getting her the attention?" Neko didn't say anything as she hung her head. "Also I believe…"

"I get it! You take everything…" Neko said in a depressed tone. Naruto smiled again and held out his hand before a hat appeared in it. "That's everything we've bet this time." Neko said as she left the duo in a swirl of leaves. Naruto chuckled at her before he looked at Fū again.

"I think the academy will be starting soon don't you think?" Naruto asked as realization flashed on Fū's face. "Don't worry, I'll take you there." Naruto said as grabbed her wrist and dragged the struggling girl to the academy. "Also before I forget…." Naruto said as he unsealed his favorite goggles and placed them on Fū's head giving her a mechanic look. Touching them, Fū couldn't believe that Naruto had given her his favorite goggle.

"Wh-" Fū started to ask, but was cut off.

"Happy late birthday imōto." Naruto said as Fū stopped and looked at Naruto before she hugged him again.

- Hokage Tower {25 minutes Later} -

Naruto knocked on the door to the Sandaime's office to see the piled stack of papers that surrounded his team and the old man's desk.

"Am I late?" Naruto asked getting a sweatdrop from everyone in the room. Walking through the paperwork Naruto saw that they were mostly denied requests of the Civilian Council.

'I wonder: why he doesn't just use shadow clones to do the work? Then he could use that time to read that book of his' Naruto thought as he shuffled through the piles of paper. Getting up to the desk, Naruto smiled before he saluted.

"Nice of you to join us Naruto-kun." Hiruzen said. "Care to fill us in on your report of the mission."

"What do I need to fill in?"

"Kakashi and the others reported that you were thrown off a cliff and were gone for approximately 13 days; care to explain what happened in that time?" Hiruzen said as everyone leaned in. Naruto sighed and looked at the clock.

"Clear all appointment for the next 3 hours." Hiruzen nodded.

{3 Hours Later}

"And that's when we came back to the base and met up with everyone again." Naruto finished as he looked around the room. Surprisingly the paperwork seemed to vanish as he told his story and Hiruzen seemed focused on his work for once, even Kakashi wasn't reading his book.

"Interesting Naruto-kun, very interesting. Could also explain what happened in your battle with the late Mizukage?" Naruto nodded, but looked at Sasuke and Hinata.

"I…need to tell only you and Kakashi-sensei this. Sorry…" Naruto said as he looked at his teammates. Both nodded before they left the room looking like they would fall on the floor from the lack of sleep. As soon as the door closed Naruto stayed quiet and stared at the two adults, "I said only Kakashi-sensei and you." Naruto repeated as 5 ANBU appeared and surrounded him with blades at his neck.

"Enough!" Hiruzen shouted as the ANBU looked at him, their blades still where they are. "Leave." Instantly the ANBU put away their blades and disappeared before Naruto walked up to the door and placed a seal on it. "Now Naruto-kun, what do you want to talk to us about." Naruto didn't move for about 5 minutes, causing the two adult to worry.

"Naruto?" Instantly the two felt the sudden surge of power go throughout the room. Looking at Naruto, they saw him do a single Hand-seal and whispered something.

"Jinchūriki Shroud: Kyūbi…" The two watched as a clear shroud surrounded Naruto as nine-tails began popping out of the back. As quickly as it happened, everything stopped and returned to normal. Hiruzen and Kakashi didn't say anything as they stared at the Genin, "…Ojī-san, I can use Senjutsu." Both adults' eyes, or eye, widened to comical proportions and looked on. Getting over it, Hiruzen coughed into his hand.

"Well, this is unexpected Naruto. Either way I am both surprised and happy for you isn't that right Kakashi?" Kakashi nodded numbly, and looked at Naruto. Naruto smiled before got a look of realization on his face.

"Ojī-san is it too late to enter the _Chūnin_ Exams?" Seeing the question Hiruzen shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Of course not Naruto-kun. In fact I have already filled it out the forms for your team to enter." Hiruzen said pulling out a folder and handing it over to Kakashi. "Kakashi, please deliver these to your other students and tell them that they have the next 2 weeks off for a job well done. Also here is your team's payment for the mission." Hiruzen said pulling out an evelope and handing one to Naruto and the others to Kakashi. Kakashi nodded as he left, but Naruto looked at him.

"Ojī-san…could you get my kaa-san and Hiashi-sama in here?" Hiruzen nodded and called the ANBU to get them.

{15 Minutes Later}

"Hokage-sama may I ask what this is about?" Hiashi asked as he looked at Anko. "I have recently heard that Hinata has return home and wanted to greet her." Anko nodded in agreement wanting to do the same for Naruto.

"Well that is simple; Naruto-kun wanted to discuss something with the two of you." At that the door closed behind them with Naruto leaning against it.

"Hi Kaa-san, Hiashi-sama…"

"Naruto-kun"

"Gaki…"

"Soooo…what's this I hear about a betrothal between me and Hinata-chan?" Both Anko's and Hiashi's eyes widened and looked at Naruto. Said blonde tapped his head and patted his stomach "It helps to have voices in your head." Both adults hung their heads in defeat with one thought in their heads.

'Damn…and to think we could surprise them when they turned _Chūnin._'

A/N: That's chapter 36. What do you think? Next up: The competition, the changes, and the first portion of the Exam.

Poll thus far: Who should Naruto revive first in the _Chūnin_ Exams break?

Karura of the Sand (Gaara's Mother) - 14 Votes (35%)  
Himikoto Hyūga (Hinata and Hanabi's Mother) - 9 Votes (22%)  
Hizashi Hyūga (Neji's Father) - 6 Votes (15%)  
Entire Uchiha Clan - 5 Votes (12%)  
Hikiko (Neji's Mother) - 2 Votes (5%)  
Yashamaru of the Sand (Gaara's Uncle) - 2 Votes (5%)  
Shisui Uchiha - 2 Votes (5%)


End file.
